(Half) Dead Rule: The Phantom Era
by TheClowningPrince
Summary: ON TEMPORARY HIATUS. Three years have passed since the events of (H)DR, and the Team has made Akoni City a new capital in the Ghost Zone. The City is prosperous, old enemies have become allies, and the Phantom Family couldn't be happier...However...An unexpected enemy will soon come out to play, threatening the GZ's new way of life. Can the Phantom's ever find peace?
1. Ch 1: The Phantom Festival

**Guess who's back? Back again. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back?**

 **I have returned, my beautiful readers!**

 **I don't know who the cover image belongs to, but if someone recognizes it as their own, please let me know and I will be sure to give you credit immediately.**

 **Soo, it's time I gave this series a little twist and tried out some different writing styles. Hope you like it! Enjoy!**

 **Danny P.O.V.:**

In the small town of Amity Park, Minnesota there lie a house unlike any other. It's classic brickwork of a normal home was the only _normal_ thing about it. Hanging off the side of the two-story building sat a glowing, neon sign with the words 'Fentonworks'. The real abnormality was the giant UFO-styled observatory that sat dormant atop the building, littered with satellite-dishes and various antennae. This was the home of the Fenton's.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were, at one time, what the world called 'ghost hunters'. As the title suggests, the couple built a business, inventing and developing weapons to combat the influx of ghosts that had made an appearance in Amity.

Of course, the appearance of these paradoxical entities would have not been possible, had it not been for the creation of the Fenton's greatest achievement; the Fenton Ghost Portal. The Portal acts as an inter-dimensional tunnel, a bridge into another world. More specifically, a realm known as the Ghost Zone.

Or, rather, it would have been.

Upon completing the Ghost Portal, the couple attempted to power up this bridge. The most they received were a series of sparks and nothing more. The Fenton's, believing they had failed, had abandoned their invention. Half a dozen grants and thousands of dollars in funding, wasted on a doorway that would never open.

Then, along came me.

Sam and Tucker urged me to enter the portal, merely poke around and see what the inside of it looked like. I remember donning my white, and black-trimmed hazmat suit - as I was always instructed to do when I was around my parent's inventions - and walked through the steel-plated hole in the wall.

Now, I don't remember what _exactly_ happened, but I know I must have pressed _something_. Next thing I know, there was this flash of light and I felt like every nerve in my body was on fire. The pain was unlike anything I'd ever felt before and would probably ever feel in my life. I honestly thought I was dead, when a surge of lightning jolted through my body. Then, it all stopped, and I blacked out. I was sure I was dead, and I was terrified. There was nothing, nothing but darkness, all around me. Was this all there was when we die? Just an endless expanse of dark oblivion?

Just when I thought I would spend eternity in this... _hell..._ I heard a voice. Someone was calling my name, screaming it. I could hear the panic, the strangled sobs. _Sam. Tucker._ Then, I felt someone slapping my face, cursing me. "Dammit, Danny. Don't you quit on me!" _Tucker._

Another hard slap to the face and my eyes shot open, and I sucked in a deep, raspy breath. My throat burned, my vision swam, and my muscles felt as though I'd taken a twenty-four-hour beating from Dash. "Danny? Danny are you okay?"

 _Sam._ I struggled to force the words from my throat, but the rawness was too much. I settled with a nod of my head and forced myself to sit up. God, did _that_ hurt. After taking a moment to catch my breath and let my vision settle, I could make out the forms of my best friends. Tucker was kneeling next to me, arms ready catch me. "Careful man."

"Tucker? Why does Danny look... _different_?"

"I-I don't really know."

Different? What the hell are they talking about? Is my hair standing on end like Doc Brown, or something? I tried again to make use of my voice and managed a strangled word. "W...wat...er."

Sam raced to the sink and came back a moment later with a glass. She placed the edge of the glass to my lips and slowly eased my head back to allow the water to flow into my mouth and down my throat. It felt like the sweetest thing in the world, the cool liquid soothing the rawness in my throat. I drained the glass, and Sam ran back to the sink for a refill. I managed a few more words past my numb lips.

"H-help...me...st...and." Tucker hesitated as if to argue with me but relented and swung my arm around his neck and gently helped me to my feet. Sam returned with the water and again helped me drink, once again draining the glass. "W-what h-happened?"

"Dude, you just got the hell shocked out of you!" Tucker exclaimed, setting me down in a nearby chair.

"Tucker! Maybe try a gentler approach next time?" Sam admonished, her cheeks were flushed and stained with tears.

Tucker held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right." He turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "How ya feelin', man?"

"Ugh, like I walked through a power plant soaking wet." I groaned and held a hand against my pounding head. It was then I remembered the 'different' comment Sam had made earlier. "Guys...what did you mean when you said I looked... _different_?"

Sam and Tuck exchanged a worried glance before Sam pulled a black compact mirror out of her pocket. I took the mirror from her outstretched hand and opened it. The person staring back at me...was not _me_. My once raven hair had turned snow-white, and my icy blue eyes were glowing a radioactive green.

"W-what...the _hell_?!" The mirror slipped from my shaking hands...or so I thought. I realized the mirror had slipped _through_ my hands. The freakin' things were transparent! "Holy shit!"

Sam's already pale face had gone almost completely white as she stared, at where my hands _had_ been, in shock. Her voice was shaky when she spoke. "W-what the h-hell is going on?"

"Guys."

"I don't know! Why is my hair white?! What happened to my eyes?! Where the hell are my hands?!" I was freaking out, my heart was...I couldn't feel my heart beating. My blood wasn't pumping. Instantly I went into full blown panic mode.

"Guys."

Sam was still shaking when she approached me, placing a comforting hand on my arm. "Danny, you need to relax. Calm down before you have a panic attack."

"Guys!"

Sam and I whirled around and yelled at Tucker in unison. "WHAT?"

Tucker wasn't facing us, and he raised an arm to point at something behind me and Sam. We turned slowly, and our eyes widened at what we saw. The hole of the portal was replaced with a swirling mass of varying shades of green and projecting an eerie light that bathed the lab in an emerald shade.

As we gazed, wide-eyed, into the swirling portal my voice was a no more than a whisper. "Holy shit."

"You can say that again," Tucker muttered.

I opened my mouth to say something else when I felt a cold shiver run up my spine and gasped as a blue mist escape my mouth. "Uh, guys, I think we should-."

My sentence was cut off when I saw what looked like a green tentacle, reaching through the swirling portal. I had only a second for my brain to register in terror when I realized what was happening. _Oh shit!_

Before any of us could react, two huge ghost-octopus looking things burst from the portal. They were green and glowing with murderous, ruby-red eyes and gaping maws full of razor-sharp teeth. Their eyes scanned the room and came to rest on the three of us. There was a look of hunger in those two sets of red eyes and feral grins on their shark-like mouths.

Without warning, one of the ectopi stretched out a green tentacle as quick as a whip and snagged Sam around the waist, pulling her back to its floating body.

"Sam!" Tucker and I shouted in unison. Tucker raced to one of the counters lining the walls and started opening cabinets and drawers to look for a weapon. I looked around with wide, panicked eyes, trying to spot anything I could use as a weapon. I couldn't find anything, and Sam was screaming, and I felt so... _useless_...so _weak_. I hated being weak.

So, I gathered up whatever courage was left in my body and charged the ghost holding Sam. I swung my right fist forward, think about how much I wished I had an ecto-gun. Just before my fist impacted its glowing, gelatinous body I was shocked to see my fist glowing green and a beam of green energy shoot from my knuckles and impact the ghost's body.

The ectopus squealed in pain and dropped Sam. "Run! Get to Tucker and stay back!" The next several moments passed in a haze after that. Flashes of green ooze flew around me, and emerald beams shot from my hands. Squeals of pain and the sounds of my fists impacting green flesh filled my senses. Then, just as quickly as it began, it ended, and I found myself standing over two piles of goo, with ectoplasm dripping from my clenched fists, and I was breathing hard.

"D-Danny?"

I turned to find Sam and Tuck staring at me with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Tuck stepped towards me slowly and looked between me and the goo piles. "H-how...what...holy shit."

Sam shook herself from her shock and spoke with a slight tremble in her voice. "V-very eloquently put, Tucker."

"Heh, well...that was...fun." A wave of exhaustion flooded over me and I saw a flash of blue light. Glancing down I noticed two blue rings appear at my waist and split to travel up and down my body. The black and white-trimmed hazmat I wore changed into my baggy blue-jeans and my white and red-trimmed t-shirt. I looked up at my friends with a tired smile. "Huh, imagine that." My eyes rolled up and closed and I succumbed to the darkness that had crept into my vision and passed out.

I woke a few hours later in my bed to find Sam and Tucker talking quietly near my bedside. I couldn't help but groan as I shifted under the covers, my muscles burning and sore. "Danny?"

"Ugh, yeah?"

I opened my eyes to find my friends hovering over me, concern written all over their faces. Sam placed her hand gently on my shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit by truck...followed by a semi-trailer." Tucker snorted and received a half-hearted glare from Sam.

"At least you're awake, man. You really scared us there for a while."

It was my turn to snort and I shot Tucker an incredulous look. " _I_ scared _you_? I scared _myself_." I sat up and scooted against my headboard, wincing as my back twinged. "What happened exactly?"

Tucker grinned and pulled up a chair. "Dude, you kicked those octopus things asses. You were punching them left and right and you had these wicked green lasers comin' out of your hands!"

My eyes went wide. I had forgotten that part. I stared at my hands in disbelief and remembered how my hands had gone transparent shortly after my adventure in electrocution. "Guys...w-what's happening to me?"

"I think…" Sam started slowly, "that you might be a ghost."

Tucker stared at her like she had grown a second head. "C'mon, Sam, Danny can't be a ghost. Look at him, flesh and blood." I think Tucker was trying to convince himself at this point.

"When...when I saw my reflection...I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. But something wasn't right...I couldn't feel my _heartbeat_. It was like I _was_ a ghost." I explained slowly, my heart - yes, I could feel it this time - was slowly picking up speed and I felt another panic attack coming on.

Tucker scrunched his brow together, a look I'd seen plenty enough to know he was trying to figure something out. Most likely examining the facts and cross-referencing what he knew with what he'd learned in his super-computer of a brain. "What if...what if Danny is _half_ ghost?"

"Get real, Tucker," Sam admonished, rolling her eyes.

"Wait a minute, Sam. Think about it; he walked into the portal, the _Ghost_ Portal, got the hell shocked out of him, walked back out with white hair and green eyes. His hands turned _invisible_ , then those freakin' ectopi show up and Danny starts shooting green lasers from his hands." Tucker was practically hysterical at this point, his arms flailing about. "Quite frankly, it isn't that far off from him being a full ghost!"

Sam seemed to concede Tucker's point, her face pale and grim. My gaze went back to my hands, I felt like I was in a daze. "Half ghost?" I mumbled quietly.

My life took a hard right-turn after that. Between trying to control and discover my powers, fighting the next ghost the Portal would spit out, and avoiding the newest dangerous invention Jack and Maddie would cook up, my life gave a whole new definition to _stressful_.

I took the name of Danny Phantom when I was in my ghost form, and I took it upon myself to fight the ghosts that would threaten my town. So, for four years I risked my life time and time again. I fought Nocturn, the ghost of dreams. I froze and defeated Undergrowth, a ghost with the power to control plant life. Defeated and imprisoned Pariah Dark, the former King of the Ghost Zone. My hardest battle however, was when I fought Dark Dan; an alternate future version of my ghost half combined with Plasmius' ghost half.

Time and time again I stuck my neck out for the people of Amity Park, and yet, they vilified me. Referred to me as a menace to Amity, and painted me as a villain, despite how many lives I saved, because of my actions. The final straw; when I told Jack and Maddie about my ghost half. They turned on me. They tried to destroy me. So, I fled.

I had nowhere else to go, so I fled into the Ghost Zone. There, I sought out Clockwork, the Master of Time, and the man I consider a father to this day. He told me, as a ghost - even a half ghost - that I had a lair in the GZ; a huge island full of plant life, complete with a lake and a waterfall. From there I built my new home; Phantom Mansion. In the days that followed, I found Danielle, a little girl I had found years earlier who I had thought was a clone created by Vlad Plasmius. I soon discovered she was actually my daughter, my own flesh and ectoplasm.

Danielle is the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. Smart and witty, and downright adorable. She made me proud to be her father, and I would give anything for my little girl.

The biggest surprise was when I was informed by Clockwork and my friend, Grim, Master of Death, that I was next in line as King of the Ghost Zone. To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. It took some time for me to come to terms with this information, but in the end, I relented and accepted my soon-to-be title.

We had been living in Phantom Mansion for a few weeks, me, the little halfa, and Sam and Tucker, when something crash landed on my island while I was training Danielle to use her powers. That something turned out to be some _one_ ; Ember McLain. The Rockstar had been beaten within an inch of her afterlife by that ecto-infused hunk of scrap metal, Skulker. I saved her afterlife and beat Skulker, promising to destroy him should her ever set foot on my island, or near my family again.

With Sam's help we managed to patch the Rockstar up and welcomed her to stay as long as she liked. As the weeks passed, my daughter had grown attached to Ember, and vice versa. The two had become thick as thieves and, I had to admit, even _I_ had developed an attraction to the fiery Rockstar. It wasn't long before we started dating, and I got to see a softer, kinder side of the badass, don't-take-crap-from-anyone Ember McLain.

My coronation as King came on my eighteenth birthday. Gods, that was a hell of a day. We had teleported - thanks to Clockwork and Grim - to a large island near the Time Tower to find hundreds, possibly more than a thousand, ghosts assembled to witness their new King. The ceremony was long and tedious, but the pride I saw in the eyes of my friends, my daughter, my girlfriend, and my father were worth every grueling minute.

The Observants were there, along with the Masters of the Natural World; Grim, Clockwork, Mother Nature or Terra, and Theodon, Mistress of Reality. After a lengthy pledge to uphold my duties as the King, to guide my people and protect the GZ from invaders and Evil, I was given the Crown of Fire. After swearing to use the power responsibly, to perform my duties as a protector without fault, I was presented with the Ring of Rage. These two ancient artifacts were the signature of a true King and held unimaginable power.

Days later, I was observing my island from my balcony. Since my crowning, islands and doors had been showing up and melding with my island, signaling the start of a kingdom, a capital in the GZ. It was on this day my sister, Jazz, showed up in a stolen Spectre Speeder, claiming she knew what happened between the Fenton's and I. I welcomed her with open arms into my strange family, happy to have my sister in my life once again.

Three years have passed since then. Three years since my family was started and I became King of the GZ. We began construction of a capital, a place for all ghosts to call home. The city thrived upon its completion, and ghosts from all over the GZ began to settle in. Jobs were created, families were started, and Akoni City became the symbol of a new age in the Ghost Zone.

Today is the anniversary of the day I defeated Pariah Dark, a day the citizens of Akoni call the 'Phantom Festival'. I had missed the first three celebrations but have joined in the last couple and, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of it. All it is, is a day where they celebrate _me_ , and I've never been a big fan of being the center of attention. But, Ember has decided to force me to attend because it's 'my day', so I don't really have a choice.

I suppose I should get ready for the festival then. Danielle loves these celebrations so, I guess I can suffer through a few hours of parties for her.

"Danny."

 **3rd Person P.O.V.:**

Danny turned from his journal to find Ember leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. "What are you doing? Danielle is driving Sam up the wall with how long you're taking."

"Sorry, Angel." Danny closed and locked his journal, stashing it in his desk drawer. The halfa stood and placed the Ring of Rage back on his finger. "Just working on the memoir."

Ember approached him with a small smile on her face. "How are they going so far?"

"Really good, I think." Danny pulled Ember close and planted a soft kiss on her pale-blue lips. "You ready to go?"

The Rockstar rolled her eyes and gave Danny an impatient look. "We've been ready for twenty minutes, babypop. Move your ass so we can go party."

Danny chuckled, taking Ember's hand and lead her from their room and down the stairs to the living room where they could hear Danielle chatting excitedly with her aunt. The ghostly couple couldn't hide the smirks on their faces when they caught sight of Sam and the little halfa. The goth girl was shooting the royal couple pleading looks, begging one of them to distract Danielle.

Ember, deciding to be a little merciful, snuck up behind the hyper little girl and wrapped her up in a hug whilst tickling her sides mercilessly.

"Miss Ember!" Danielle shrieked, collapsing in a fit of giggles. Ember grinned and ceased her attack, setting the little halfa back on the couch. Danielle put her hands on her hips and gave the Rockstar an adorable glare. "What was that for? You know I don't like to be tickled!"

"Oh, cut the act, baby-dip. You love it when I tickle you!" Ember stated matter-of-factly, her mouth turned up in her ever-present smirk.

Danielle huffed and crossed her arms in a mock-pout. "Fine. But only you! And Daddy!"

Danny walked up and gathered the, now seven-year-old, little halfa in hug. "That's right, kiddo. Just me and Miss Ember." Danny pulled Danielle back a little to kiss her forehead. "From the look on Auntie Sam's face, I'd say you're ready to go?"

"Yes! We've been waiting for you, for _forever_!" Danielle groaned, causing the adults to chuckle.

"All right, all right. Well, if you're ready, let's get Uncle Tuck and we can get going."

Sam rolled her eyes as she stood from the couch. "Tucker the Tech-Wizard is still working on a new project with Technus at his lab. Tucker called earlier to let me know he'd meet us at the Square."

"Yeah, I guess I should've seen that coming." Danny admitted, rolling his eyes. A thought popped in his head, and the older halfa turned to his girlfriend. "That reminds me. How did Walker like the improvements to the new prison?"

"When I checked in for his report yesterday, he seemed to be somewhat impressed," Ember smirked. "Which, for him, means he greatly approves of the enhanced security and specialized containment methods for those who 'still have a problem with the punk', as Walker so eloquently put it."

Danny chuckled and started towards the door with Danielle sitting on his shoulders and Ember's hand in his, motioning Sam to join them. "Well, that's good. I think he's really changed his opinion of me since we helped turn in a lot of the 'big and bad' of the GZ."

Sam piped up at that. "Just imagine how he'll be when we finally find Dutchman and its crew. I'd be willing to bet old Skull-Face cracks a smile."

The group laughed as they followed the glowing, cobblestone street towards the sounds of laughter and celebration. Rounding the corner, the residents of Phantom Mansion were bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells of the festival. Ghosts of all shapes and sizes were milling about, laughing, and shouting with general merriment, and the smell of fried foods and candy wafted through the air, making their mouths water with hunger. Nearly everyone they passed either bowed or raised their drinks to acknowledge their King and his family.

Danny grimaced as he watched the people of Akoni City bow before him. The halfa had never been a huge fan of having his own 'Phan-base', as Tucker put it. Ember, seeing his discomfort, squeezed his hand in reassurance, earning a grateful smile from the halfa. After several minutes of navigating the crowd, Team Phantom made their way to the small stage set in front of the city hall and arranged themselves before the crowd. Danny stood behind a podium with Danielle to his left and Ember on his right, and Sam was positioned behind them with a sheepish Tucker (who had just shown up), and a proud looking Jazz (who had been attending to some official business in city hall).

"Citizens of Akoni City!" Danny spoke into the mic with, what Sam and Ember call, his 'King voice'. "I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities thus far! I want to thank you all, for attending today's celebration. Today marks the 6th annual, Phantom Festival; the day Pariah Dark was returned to his Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep!"

The crowd roared with cheers and small fireworks were set off in response.

"Once again, I ask that you not celebrate me and my name, but that you celebrate the fall of darkness and evil. Yes, it was because of my actions that the Mad King was returned to his imprisonment, but I did this because it was the right thing to do. I did not ask to be your King, but I am proud nonetheless to lead this city, and its loyal citizens." Danny paused as the crowd roared once again. "Now, I believe I've talked long enough. Let the Phantom Festival begin!"

With his announcement, massive fireworks were launched into the sky of the Zone, exploding in sparks of greens, whites, and blues. Danny gathered his daughter on his arm and wrapped the other arm around Ember's waist as the Phantom Family gazed up at the fireworks, smiles on everyone's faces. It's true, Danny wasn't a huge fan of the festival and hated being the center of attention, but he loved the smiles of joy and awe that this celebration brought to his odd family.

XXX

 **This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I've really wanted to do my own spin on Danny getting his ghost half, and I think I did a decent job. But, I'll leave that to you to decide.**

 **So yeah, it's been three years since the last story and everyone, except Danielle, is in their early 20's. Old enemies have become allies, in case you might've missed their collaboration with Technus and Walker, and I may include more mentions of others in later chapters.**

 **Also, I've named the city Akoni City after the original King of the Ghost Zone, an OC character I mentioned in Chapter 12 of (Half) Dead Rule, in case there was any confusion.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	2. Ch 2: End of Exile

**I know, been a while since I last updated. In my defense, writing ain't easy as I'm most of us are aware. Anyway, onto reviews!**

 **Linkmaster500: Don't jump the gun there, sir. As Albert Einstein once said: Assumptions are made, and most assumptions are wrong. Thank you for following the story, I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

 **InvaderJohnny: Always nice to see your reviews! I appreciate the follow and favorite.**

 **Dalton Wolfe: Of course, little Dani is still cute! I'll be milking the adorableness of this little girl as much as possible! Thank you for following and favoriting.**

 **Enjoy!**

XXX

Earth's Moon; a rather small celestial body that orbits our planet, a symbol of the time that passes as day transitions into night, and the phases from New to Full Moon. It is here, on this cratered expanse of rock and dust, that we find a lone man living out his days in exile. This man's name was, at one time, Vladimir Masters; chairman and CEO of the DALV Co. corporation and the latest Wisconsin Dairy King. Through strategic business dealings and underhanded, borderline _suspicious_ , tactics, Vlad Masters rose from a simple college level scientist, hospitalized with ecto-acne, to become one of the richest persons in the world.

What Masters kept secret from his... _business associates_...were the side-effects of his affliction of ecto-acne. After a horrible lab accident where a prototype ghost portal went haywire and blasted Masters in the face with pure ecto-energy, the man was unknowingly infused with ecto-DNA. As I'm sure you've guessed, Vlad Masters had become the first halfa in history, and upon discovery of his new powers, took to naming his ghost half; Vlad Plasmius.

For decades, Vlad Masters took to the role of a ruthless businessman, using his ghost powers to possess associates and create business deals no one would ever dream of, nor remember, agreeing to. It was through the rather distant association with his colleague, Jack Fenton, that Masters discovered the youngest Fenton, Daniel, had also suffered an accident and had become a halfa as well. Masters saw this as a wonderful opportunity to no longer feel like a lonely outsider and gain an apprentice and heir to his massive fortune. However, his methods in convincing young Daniel to join Masters lacked the proper tact and strategy to sway the young Fenton boy's loyalty to his family.

Vlad Masters took this as an insult and instead took every chance he could to make the Fenton boy's life as difficult as possible; unleashing powerful ghosts on Amity, threatening the lives of his family, and even employing ghosts to kidnap the boy. Then the day came when the Disasteroid threatened to destroy the planet. Masters, believing his powers would be able to destroy the hurtling asteroid, saw this as an opportunity to rule the world. Holding the safety and survival of Earth hostage, the world leaders agreed to Masters terms, and promised him supreme rule if he destroyed the asteroid.

Masters victory however, would be short-lived. The Disasteroid contained large amounts of a very rare and unique mineral, known as 'ecto-ranium', and unknown element with a specific radiation field that negates ghost powers. Realizing his mistake and believing Earth's survival would be a hopeless endeavor, Masters chose to leave Earth behind and enter a long, and shameful exile in space. It was here, on the darkest side of the Moon, Vlad Plasmius has lived in his ghost form, for six long years.

Vlad sighed as he entered the cave he had found hidden deep within one of the Moon's craters many years ago. The man had spent the last few years, exploring a network of tunnels and caves that crisscrossed under the surface of the celestial body, and discovering a secret government bunker that had been installed over the last forty years since the Moon Landing.

Setting his knapsack on a nearby table, the vampiric halfa grabbed a bottle of scotch and a glass tumbler before settling into a worn armchair with a deep sigh. Vlad poured himself a finger of the amber liquid and raised the glass to his lips, relishing the fire that travelled down his throat.

"I see your exile has been kind to you."

Vlad showed no reaction to the voice of the intruder, merely gazing into his glass of scotch with a stoic expression. "Come to finish the job?"

Clockwork faded into sight before taking a seat in an armchair opposite Vlad. "Not at all."

"Then why come?" Vlad shot back the rest of his drink before pouring another. He motioned towards the Time Master with the bottle in offering. Clockwork shook his head in polite refusal.

"I am here, because evil will threaten the life of someone we both care for."

Plasmius cocked an eyebrow, almost challengingly. "The only person I ever cared for was Maddie Fenton, and I am quite sure you do not care for her in the way I did."

The Time Master grimaced slightly, a notion that did not go unnoticed by Vlad. "Quite true. I have little care for people like Jack and Maddie Fenton." Clockwork fixed Vlad with a piercing stare, quite a feat considering the Time Master's eyes were all red with a lack of pupils. "The Fentons are not who I speak of, however. At least...not anymore. He has refused to take their name for three years now."

"He?" Vlad asked with no small amount of confusion. Then, like a switch being thrown, realization dawned on him. "Daniel? _My_ Daniel?"

"The very same."

Vlad sipped on the amber liquid for a moment before speaking, his voice soft and full of regret. "How is he?"

"He is quite well," Clockwork replied, his voice just at quiet. "Admittedly, his first year in his new role was full of hardships and obstacles, but that was to be expected."

"His new role?" Vlad peered at the Time Master in confusion.

"Young Daniel has become our new King. The throne passed to him by right of conquest."

Vlad's brow shot to his hairline. "Daniel? _King_ of the Ghost Zone?" A chuckle of disbelief escaped his lips, sharpened canines glinted in the low-light of the bunker.

Clockwork allowed an amused smirk on his stoic face before continuing. "Myself and the other Masters and the Observants had spent four years, arguing over the validity of Daniel's claim to the throne. It was finally agreed just before he reached the age of adulthood - when young Daniel could take to the throne in accordance to the ancient laws. Therefore, Daniel has been King of the Ghost Zone for the last three years."

The old halfa shot back the rest of his drink in a daze and poured himself another, only to shoot that one back as well. "And here I thought the boy would be nothing more than a small-town hero." Vlad muttered, and he appeared to age a few decades as the weight of his past actions seemed to take their toll on the old halfa. Vlad glanced up at the quiet and patient Time Master. "I never hated the boy, you know. I'll admit my methods could have been more...tactful. But it was never my intention to but the boy in any serious danger, merely to teach him. To train him."

Clockwork, of course, knew what the old halfa's motives for the young man were, but felt it best to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, as the expression goes. "I am curious about your methods. Why did you want to train Daniel?"

Vlad gazed into his glass for a moment to collect his thoughts before replying in a quiet and subdued voice. "When I had my lab accident I was terrified. I had no clue as to what was happening to me, why my arm would become intangible at random or why I would sink into the floor at the most inopportune moments. I had only a few old tomes detailing ectoplasmic entities, and my own will to train and learn to use my powers.

"When I learned that big oaf, Jack Fenton, had a son who had been in a lab accident, I took it upon myself to determine whether the boy had suffered the same fate as I." Vlad paused in his explanation, seemingly lost in thought. "I was shocked and enraged to find my suspicions were true, that Jack Fenton could be so moronic to allow something as dangerous as a Ghost Portal to remain unchecked while his adolescent son was left to his own devices.

"Daniel was wary of me, of course. Months of random ghost attacks would put anyone like he and I on edge. Again, I'll admit my methods were rather tactless, but the boy distrusted me, and I knew he would never abandon his family for me. So, I spent the next year, devising plans and enlisting the assistance of powerful ghosts to attack Daniel. With each encounter, I watched him develop his powers, I watched him grow stronger. When it was I who would conduct encounters with Daniel it was, so I could observe and record his progress...and I could not have been prouder." Clockwork knew Vlad's reasons, but to hear the words, and to see and feel the emotion behind them...it truly washed away any doubts the Master of Time had of the old halfa.

"Daniel never knew?"

Vlad snorted and shook his head. "No. I never told him my reasons. The boy would not have believed me anyway, and that is my fault." The old halfa glanced at Clockwork curiously. "How is Daniel? You mentioned he no longer takes the Fenton name."

Clockwork sighed, his form shifting to that of an old man, his face weary and solemn. "Daniel had a hard final year of school. After the Disasteroid incident, a man known as Freakshow returned once again and wielded the Reality Gauntlet. The controller of ghosts sought to take over the world but failed to realize a number of the Reality Gems had been damaged. The result was the altering of the minds of Amity Park, wiping away the knowledge of Daniel's identity as Phantom.

"In his senior year, Daniel finally decided to reveal his second identity to Jack and Maddie Fenton, believing they would be understanding and set aside their prejudices for the sake of their son. Sadly, they did not. The Fentons chased the boy from his home, essentially threatening Daniel with destruction should her ever return. The boy ventured into the Zone to find me, and to start constructing his own lair within the Ghost Zone." Clockwork smiled as he thought of the beautiful home Danny had built. "It is quite an extraordinary dwelling. However, for the sake of Time, I won't go into too much detail. Anyway, Daniel made his home in the Ghost Zone, learning of his appointment to the throne only a few weeks later. The days leading up to his coronation were quite eventful and wrought with challenges only Daniel would find himself in. Since then, he has discovered a daughter he never knew, and gained himself a girlfriend."

Vlad's jaw was threatening to fall to the floor if it dropped any lower. Clockwork had watched the old halfa as he spoke, identifying the emotions that flit across the pale blue face; anger, guilt, sadness, surprise, and amusement. "The boy finally had the fortitude to court the Manson girl?"

Clockwork smirked, knowing the bombshell he was about to drop on the old exile. "He did...for only a short while. Last I checked on him, he and Miss McLain were enjoying a lovely romantic dinner for two."

"The Rockstar?!" Vlad burst into hearty laughter, tears forming in his eyes. "That boy must be one hell of a man to handle the likes of Ember McLain. Even Skulker had a difficult time with the young woman." Clockwork chuckled quietly as the old halfa calmed down. Vlad regarded the Time Master once the tears of laughter cleared. "Forgive my forwardness, Clockwork, but why are you here?"

"I have come to ask for your help."

"My help?" Vlad furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you up to that would require the help of a shameful exile, such as myself?"

Clockwork regarded the old halfa seriously. "Despite your misguided actions six years past, your motives for Daniel were paved with good intentions. You care for the boy, just as I do, regardless of how you went about to show it." The Time Master allowed his words to settle in before continuing. "I have seen glimpses of Daniel's future. A formidable foe will threaten the Ghost Zone and its people, but also Daniel's family. I would not be here if I did not think Daniel could take care of this threat on his own. He will require your help, and the help of his family to defeat this enemy."

Vlad quietly gazed out the triple reinforced glass window of the bunker into the starred blackness of space. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and betrayed no emotion. "I take it Daniel did not ask you to come here."

"Correct."

"What's to say he will not turn me away? I'm not sure if you've realized, but the boy isn't exactly my number one fan."

"It's true, Daniel has never fully trusted you," Clockwork mused. "However, I am giving you a chance to make amends, and right the wrongs. This is an opportunity to leave your self-appointed exile and ask forgiveness."

Vlad pondered the Time Master's words for several moments, he was eager to jump at the opportunity to return to Earth...but reluctant to as well. He would not be receiving warm greetings and happy smiles. Daniel would be sure to have him locked up, possibly thrown into The Pit. The old halfa shuddered at the thought. However, if someone was threatening the boy's life, Vlad would not would not stand idle. The old halfa was done playing the bad guy, done with pushing away the boy he had come to view as a son he never had.

Vlad met Clockworks gaze with a determination that pleased the ancient ghost. "I will go with you. From this moment on, I pledge my life to the protection of Daniel and to the service of the King of The Ghosts."

Clockwork nodded respectfully and allowed a small smile. "Then let us depart." The Time Master spun his staff making a large clock hand appear. The hand spun a full three-sixty to become a large, swirling blue portal. Halfa and Master stood simultaneously and ventured through the portal, side by side, to find and protect the young man they cared for dearly.

XXX

 **If you could see my face, I'd be smirking right now. Bet ya didn't see that one coming.**

 **I've always thought that there was a reason behind Vlad taking such an interest in Danny's life, and I think my theory to be quite sound. If you rewatch the series, you'll find that Danny always seems to try and develop his powers with fervor after seeing Vlad perform them with ease. And really, if you think about it, Danny probably looks up to Vlad in a way. After all, Vlad has had his powers for at least a couple of decades longer than Danny, and therefore has much more control and mastery over them.**

 **Anyway, yeah, a little backstory on our favorite ex-villain. I wonder what Danny's reaction to seeing his old nemesis will be? May your imagination run wild while I write chapter 3, *insert evil laugh here*.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	3. Ch 3: (Un)Happy Reunion

**I know, I've been slacking on writing lately. I've been retyping and editing my Teen Titans fic and I got sidetracked from HDR: Phantom Rule. I'll try to keep up on it, but I can't promise anything. School and work occupy much of my time so the only free time I get to write is late at night. But, I prevail to bring you beautiful readers the story you love. Thanks for sticking with me despite my long absence. I love you guys.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

XXX

"That's not gonna work, dude."

"Silence, fleshy human! Do not think me incapable of formulating a proper quantum displacement device!"

"Seriously? Dude, the shouting? We've talked about this…"

"Err...yes...apologies Tech-Wizard."

Technus and Tucker, two of the most technologically capable beings in the Ghost Zone, had been commissioned to build a Ghost Portal in the Zone to allow travel between the two realms. Now, I know what you're thinking; 'isn't there already a Portal leading to and from the GZ? You would be correct; however, Danny wanted _this_ particular portal to come with a few extra perks. Like, for instance, to have it fully capable of opening a portal on the mortal plane anywhere in the world. Danny promised the two techies a bonus if they could develop a portable version to allow them to open a portal _in_ to the GZ. So far, their progress was running smoothly…

Most of the time.

Tucker breathed out a heavy sigh and glared at Danny - who was snickering in the corner, watching the argument. The dark-skinned techie turned back to his 'lab partner' and gave him an exasperated look. "Technus, I'm not questioning your capabilities. I'm just sayin', the quantum harmonizer has to go next to the entanglement drive."

"And _I am saying_ it goes into the photonic resonation chamber!" The tech-ghost, aptly named Technus, exclaimed in his uniquely shrill voice.

Tucker promptly planted his face in one hand and his head. "Dude, that would that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity!" The dark-skinned tech-wizard pointed a thumb at the blackboard behind him. "Did you even _read_ the algorithms?"

Danny felt this was a good time to interrupt before things got out of hand. "All right, all right! I swear, you guys keep bickering and I'm gonna have to talk to Jazz about creating an H.R. Department." The halfa turned to Technus, "listen to Tucker on this one. Neither of us doubt your abilities, but when it comes to this kind've thing it's usually best to take his word for it." Technus' brow twitched behind his mirrored glasses and he let out a small sigh.

"Very well, Royal One. I shall _attempt_ to endure the Tech-Wizards inane demands." Technus relented, bowing slightly to Danny.

"That's not…" Danny sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, whatever. I gotta go. You kids play nice." Tucker shot him a glare from behind one of the arches of the portals framework. Danny just gave him a cheeky smile before going intangible and rocketing through the roof and into the skies above Akoni City.

The Ghost King couldn't help but smile as he gazed out upon his city. What was once a simple stretch of grass and trees had now become a huge, thriving community. From this height Danny could clearly pick out the individual districts of Akoni. To the South lie the largest district; the Residential District, full of homes ranging from simple two-story houses to four-story apartment complexes.

The North portion was the Shopping District. A good portion of the 'above-average' ghosts that had migrated to the capital had decided to monopolize their unique abilities and skills and built businesses. Many had become artisans and carpenters, building custom furniture, and weaving all manners of cloth items. Other's took standard jobs like opening restaurants and department stores. Some even opened a movie theatre - which had gotten a connection through Tucker to bring in movies from the human realm - and a few other forms of entertainment.

With businesses came the need for the development of a commerce and trading system. Thankfully, those who had been bankers in life had cooperated with Sam and Jazz to develop a monetary system. The Western side of the city, now the Banking District, housed...well...the First Royal Bank of Akoni as well as the Akoni Capital Mint. While the smallest district, it was the most heavily patrolled and regulated. The coins minted consisted of copper, bronze, silver, and gold. The monetary value was backed by rare minerals found mainly buried deep within the larger floating expanses of rock deeper in the Ghost Zone. It was a sound system, but Danny and the rest of the Team new better than to rely on just monetary commerce.

That's where the Eastern district came into play. The Team had tagged this as the Trading District; here you could find a sort of 'open market'. Picture a farmer's market, only larger and catering to all types of trade. From crops and livestock, to material goods like clothing and anything anyone wanted to trade, all of it you could find here. Since it was an open market, the stalls could be converted or moved for celebrations, including the Phantom Festival.

All of this, Danny gazed upon fondly. It still amazed him how quickly this city had grown and prospered in just three short years. He looked forward to seeing how his city progressed in the next decade.

Shaking himself from his musings, Danny began his flight from Technus' Technologies - an electronics store the tech-ghost had opened - in the Shopping District, towards his home in the center of the city. The halfa waved and smiled to his people as he passed, thoroughly enjoying his short flight and the air of peace the community generated. Alighting on the balcony of his room of the Mansion, Danny reverted to his human form and took a moment to lean against the railing, just taking moment to relax.

Danny smiled when a pair of pale-blue arms snaked their way around his waist and a voice with a hint of a smile spoke from behind him. "And just where have you been, baby-pop?"

"Oh, you know, watching the I.T. Department have their usual 'couples quarrel'." Danny spun and cupped Ember's chin in his hand to deliver a searing kiss. The Rockstar's eyes fluttered closed and she sighed in content, almost melting in her lover's arms. After a moment, Danny pulled away, resting his forehead on hers. The pair gave each other goofy smiles and Danny continued quietly. "What've you been up to, Angel?"

Ember smirked as Danny's arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. "Where do you think? Me and the little Phantom have been out and about today. Went and caught a new movie at the theatre, took her to the community center for a swim, and then walked around the Trade District before heading home. We just finished lunch."

Danny pulled back to look at Ember with confusion. "You went _swimming_?"

Ember rolled her eyes and gave her boyfriend a flat look. "No, doofus. Dani went swimming, I sat in the lounge chair and worked on my music."

"Oh...right, duh." That earned a laugh from the Rockstar. Leaning against one another, the couple stood gazing out over the hustle and bustle of the city, just enjoying the feel of being in one another's arms.

"Well ain't this a sight for old eyes." Danny and Ember spun, their respective weapons primed and ready for a fight. Before them stood a black-robed figure standing around six feet tall and brandishing a scythe in his bony hands. If the Reaper had a face, his expression would have been flat with an eyebrow cocked. "Honestly? Can't an old man check on his King without having a weapon pointed at him?"

"Sorry, Grim." Danny lowered his hand and dispelled the green glow around it, Ember following his example after a moment's hesitation. "It's not every day that a Master just pops by unannounced."

Grim chuckled and rubbed the back of his skull almost sheepishly. "Heh, apologies Sir Phantom. I came to give you a heads-up."

Danny cocked his brow and shot Ember a glance. The Rockstar shrugged and turned back to the Reaper. "A heads-up about what?"

"The old man will be dropping by soon with...someone from your past, Daniel. I came to warn you, so you don't end up going all 'Ring of Rage' on him before hearing him out."

Ember scrunched her brow in confusion and glanced at her boyfriend. Danny had tensed up and his blue eyes had turned green and were currently burning with the intensity of a bonfire; he was angry, but not in a full-blown rage. When Danny spoke, his voice was bone-chillingly calm, yet projected a danger that even the strongest in the GZ had come to fear. "Who?"

"Him." Grim replied knowingly, his voice was quiet and calm. The fire in Danny's eyes flared brighter and a low growl began to travel through his chest and up his throat. Ember laid a calming hand on his arm causing the growl to cutoff and the fire to die down.

Danny took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, his eyes shifting from the glowing green to their normal icy-blue. The Phantom King turned his attention back to the ever-patient Master of Death. "I assume you have no idea why."

Grim shook his head. "Apologies, Daniel, I do not. You know how the old man is, cryptic until the end."

Ember huffed, catching the Danny and Grim's attention. "Alright, I'll bite. Who the hell are you two talking about?"

"Vlad." Danny stated simply, an ounce of venom in his tone.

"Vlad?" Ember looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her. Her hair flared and took on a reddish hue. "You mean to tell me, that son of a bitch, who treated our little girl like a science experiment and tried to kill the man I love, is on his way here? And being escorted by Clockwork himself?" The Rockstar was almost growling like a jungle cat at this point.

"Yes, my lady." Grim nodded, well...grimly. Ember's hair burned hotter until it was practically crackling, and her expression was white-hot anger. Danny pulled her close and ran a hand through the flames, attempting to calm Ember and her fiery anger.

"Easy, Angel. I know you're angry, but you have to calm down. Danielle is safe, and Vlad can't touch her...not unless he wants to face The Pit." Danny whispered in her ear, his deep voice soothing and firm. "If he tries anything, I'll keep you and Danielle safe. I promise." Ember's flames slowly died down and returned to their cool-blue hue.

Ember nodded and hugged Danny closer for a moment longer, taking comfort in his reassuring presence. After a moment, the Rockstar released her hold on Danny and gave him a weak smile. "I'm gonna go find babydip. If... _he_ is coming, I want to keep her preoccupied."

Danny nodded and put a knuckle under her chin to lift her head. "You sure you're alright, Angel?"

"Yeah...I'm okay." Ember stood on her toes and gave Danny a chaste kiss. "I'll call the other's let 'em know what's going on." With a final nod from her lover, and a goodbye to Grim, the Rockstar spun on her heel and left the balcony and ventured into the Mansion to find Danielle.

Danny turned back to Grim with a stony expression. "When will they be here?"

"Any moment, I'd imagine."

As if on cue, a large clock hand popped into existence on the other end of the balcony and spun a full three-sixty, creating a swirling blue portal. From its depths emerged the floating form of Clockwork in his middle-aged form. The Time Master nodded at Grim, who returned the greeting, and gave Danny a wan smile. "Daniel."

"Clockwork." Danny responded in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

The Time Master grimaced and stepped aside as a second figure emerged from the portal. The years in exile had not been kind to Vlad Masters. His grey hair and goatee was streaked with white and both had grown, his hair reaching his shoulders and the goatee had grown to a full beard that reached his chest. Vlad appeared thinner, dark bags hung under his eyes, and any remnant of his 'superior than thou' attitude had faded away to reveal a tired old man.

Vlad smiled inwardly when he caught sight of the boy, no... _man_ before him. The once sallow, inexperienced boy had grown into a powerful and strong-willed man, who practically radiated confidence. Vlad cleared his throat when Danny's eyes landed on him, and the old halfa straightened himself. "Hello, Daniel."

"Plasmius." Danny practically growled, causing Vlad to wince.

"I have not gone by that name in years. The name 'Plasmius' no longer applies to me." Vlad stated, his voice weary and strained from his years of solitude.

"Right." Danny turned to the Masters and sighed. He motioned towards the door, "shall we move this to the council room?"

Clockwork nodded and floated towards the door with Grim falling in step behind him. "I think that would be best."

Danny moved to follow the Masters but was stopped in his tracks at the sound of Vlad's voice. "Daniel." The halfa turned to his old enemy with a stony expression. Vlad cleared his throat and gazed at Danny with tired eyes. "I'm sorry-"

"Save it." Danny growled and turned back to the door. "I will hear Clockwork out because I know and _trust_ him. You have no right to speak to me until I hear him out."

Vlad nodded sadly and followed Danny at a solemn pace. "Very well."

XXX

After a short trip to the far end of the upper floor the quartet of Masters and halfas entered the council room and sat around a large, oval-shaped table. Danny sat at the head with Grim to his left and Clockwork to his right with Vlad taking a seat on the Time Master's other side. The younger halfa waited until the trio took their seats before turning to Clockwork. "Why is he here?"

Clockwork sighed heavily, shifting into his older form. "I have recruited Mr. Masters to aid you in the near future. I have seen dark days on the horizon, Daniel. A force unlike any other will threaten the Ghost Zone and the good citizens of Akoni."

Danny's expression grew grim. "Who?"

"I do not know. What I could see was clouded and unclear. I do know that it will be a considerable force and many ghosts will fall at their hands."

"...Will we survive?"

"I have seen many outcomes of the coming struggle. Some are dark and filled with death...but just as many show a positive outcome." Clockwork sighed and gazed at Danny sadly. "I am sorry, Daniel. That is all I know."

Danny nodded and rubbed his temples. "You have done what you can. Thank you for all you have done." Clockwork smiled and nodded. The younger halfa turned his attention to Vlad and have the older halfa a hard look. Vlad met his gaze, and, despite the intensity of Danny's eyes, he remained unwavering.

After a moment of strained silence, the younger halfa opened his mouth to speak. "Clockwork says he brought you to help me. Obviously, you agreed to whatever proposal he made. What I want to know; why did you agree? What purpose does your association serve?"

Vlad took a moment to compose himself somewhat and clasped his hands on the tabletop. "Clockwork has told me, in great detail, the 'storm to come', as it were. From what he has told me, the Ghost Zone will face an enemy from the human realm. A formidable and deadly opponent." The older man sighed and gazed at Danny with a look of tired defeat. "I am an old man, Daniel - even older now since my self-appointed exile - and, truth be told, I have many regrets. I know my word is all but nil to you, but I truly apologize for all I have put you through. I was a bitter and lonely man, who felt he had been cheated out of the life he should have lived. The years I spent on the Moon have made me reflect on my past actions and made me realize my mistakes. You may never forgive me, Daniel, and I will not hold that against you. I agreed to come because I wish to at least _attempt_ to make up for what I have done to you."

Danny's expression remained impassive, but inside he was shocked to his core and only his years of hiding who he was kept the emotion from showing its face. The younger halfa gazed at Vlad critically, searching for even the barest hint of deception, but all he could see was a tired, old man, full of the regret he had spoken of. Danny broke the tense silence in a slow voice. "You're right; I may never forgive you. The trials and tribulations you put me through…" Danny had to take a deep breath to calm himself when his voice shook. "Though you were not the only one to put me through hardships, you _were_ the most consistent. I may not forgive you, Vlad...but I am not a man to hold a grudge. I will accept your help, if you do in fact speak the truth."

Vlad bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Daniel."

"There will be conditions to your assistance, however." Danny warned, leaning towards Vlad. "You will be given a room, here in the Mansion. It will be monitored and guarded at all times. You will be allowed to dine with me and my family, but you will remain in your human form. I take it you are aware of my daughter?"

"I am."

"Then you will understand my wariness. My daughter is everything to me. Should I even think you will hurt her, I will slap a pair of ecto-inhibitor cuffs and throw you in Walker's prison faster than you can say 'halfa'."

"I understand." Vlad intoned solemnly. Danny grunted and settled back in his chair.

"I will warn you, my girlfriend is very protective of Danielle and is not your biggest fan. I will try to rein her in, but it would be best if you allowed everyone to get used to you being in the Mansion. You may join us at dinner tonight if you wish. If not, I will have something sent to your room." Danny sighed and rested his head in his hands. "You need to understand, I don't set these rules to try and cow you and punish you. I'm doing this for your safety and my family's."

Vlad nodded once again. "I understand, Daniel. This is your home, your kingdom. I would expect nothing less than these restrictions set before me, and I swear by my powers to follow them to the letter."

"Very well." Danny nodded and turned to the two Masters who had remained quiet, patiently waiting for the rather emotional conversation between the two halfas to end. "Clockwork, while I am not pleased with this little bombshell, I understand your reasons behind it. Once again, you are looking out for my family's wellbeing and I thank you for that."

Clockwork gave Danny one of his smiles that doesn't quite reach his eyes but conveys all the strength of a true smile. "You are most welcome, Daniel."

Danny nodded with a small smile of his own and turned to Grim. "Thank you for your warning. Had you not shown up, Ember would have most likely tried to burn Vlad to a crisp," a loud gulp was heard from the older halfa, "and this meeting would not have ended this well."

Grim nodded and leaned back in his chair, scythe swinging idly. "No problem, kid."

Danny rolled his eyes at Grim's nonchalance and turned back to Vlad once again. "Remember the rules and we won't have a problem." The younger halfa stood, followed by Vlad and the Masters. Danny shot them all a reluctant look and motioned them to follow as he started towards the door. "For now, though...let's go meet the family."

XXX

 **Damn, tensions runnin' high. So, there's Vlad's return. What did ya'll think?**

 **Anybody catch the reference in this chapter? I laughed to myself as I wrote it.**

 **Not much I have to say really. I enjoyed writing the reactions of Danny and Ember toward Vlad and his arrival and contents of this chapter thus far.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	4. Ch 4: Masters and Masters

**Okay, boys and girls, ladies, and gents. Time to introduce Vlad to the rest of the Fam. glad ya'll enjoyed the last chapter. I'm having a lot of fun with the Vlad and Danny interactions. A little note for dialogue: when Danny speaks with the Masters or Vlad, you'll notice his speech becomes slightly more refined and more intelligent. I like to think Danny reserves time for etiquette and time for hanging with his friends and family. He's tired of everyone looking and treating him like a kid, but still acts like the same ol' Danny around his family.**

 **Now, for those of you who tried to guess what last chapter's reference was, it wasn't Grim having a Jamaican accent. This Grim in no way reflects the Reaper from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (but how great was that show though?!). The only person who got it right so far was user Siteruben, recognizing the Fallout 3 reference in the beginning of chapter 3. A big round of applause for Siteruben!**

 **Anyway, enough talk. Time to read! Enjoy!**

 **XXX**

Breaking the news of Vlad's return to the rest of the Phantom family went about as well as Danny expected. Tucker was currently doing his best to hold back his girlfriend and her infamous temper, and Ember had taken Danielle to the game room in the basement. Jazz was the calmest of the group, however she had an obvious white-knuckled grip on a rather large ecto-pistol. Regardless of the two Primordial Masters flanking a rather tired looking Vlad, the rest of the Team were very on edge. Danny couldn't blame them really, every one of them had been affected by Vlad and his plans in one way or another, both directly and indirectly.

"Danny," Jazz's voice was careful and even, with only a slight tremor of wariness. "Are you absolutely sure _this_ is a good idea?"

Danny sighed and rubbed his temple. He could already feel one hell of a migraine coming. "Honestly? Not really, no. But I'm willing to at least give him a chance. I've set ground rules that will be followed to the letter. It's Vlad's choice whether he stay's, but if he does, he will be under constant guard and surveillance." He sighed once again and lowered himself into a nearby armchair, casting Jazz a pleading look. "Please trust me on this. Jazz, Sam, Tuck...I'm not walking into this blind. I understand the risk and I take full responsibility for Vlad. I'm not happy to have him here, but, as Clockwork explained, his aid will make the difference in what's to come."

Although they appeared reluctant, Jazz and Tucker nodded their agreement, but Sam was clearly not convinced. Vlad took notice of this and took a step forward, clearing his throat. Danny turned to Vlad and, catching understanding the look on his face, the younger halfa nodded and turned back to the group. The silver-haired halfa cast his weary gaze on the young adults with a look of remorse. "I understand your reluctance to... _allow_ me anywhere near this family. I have been nothing short of a bitter and vengeful man, hellbent on harming Daniel and the rest of you in the past. I do not blame you for your obvious hatred towards me. Do try to understand, however, I am no longer the man I once was.

"If my seven years of exile have shown me anything, it is that my past actions have been truly despicable and unforgivable. I have spent just shy of a decade in a state of self-hatred and remorse and do deeply regret my mistakes. I may not be able to gain your forgiveness, but I do hope to at least atone for my mistakes. For Daniel's sake and for the sake of you, his family, I will do everything within my power to help all of you and protect the little badg-...ahem, _Daniel's_ family." Vlad lowered his gaze to the floor and retreated a step, avoiding Danny's eyes and his look of confusion. The old halfa had almost called the boy by the moniker Vlad had given him all those years ago.

Sam was still fuming but appeared somewhat mollified. Jazz and Tucker seemed thoughtful, but suspicious. Jazz was the most convinced by Vlad's words. Her time studying psychology entailed learning to notice physical tells to properly identify how a patient was feeling or whether they were telling the truth; averting the eyes, scratching one's hand or nose, even facial tics like a twitching eyebrow. From what the red-headed girl had witnessed, Vlad had spoken nothing but the truth. The old man had met each one of their eyes, refusing to flinch or back down at their hard stares or Sam's murderous glare. His hands, although clasped tightly, had been steady and relaxed.

"Okay." Jazz stated, fixing Danny with a look of acceptance. Her steely, aquamarine eyes fixed Vlad with a hard stare. "However, if you even think of going rogue or hurting any of us, especially Danny or Danielle, you will understand why Wulf calls me 'La Ruĝa Diablo'." Vlad paled slightly but remained unwavering, nodding in understanding. Jazz kept up her gaze for another moment before turning back to Danny. "I have to return to City Hall and finish filing some documents. I'll see you all at dinner."

Danny nodded and gave Jazz a weak smile, standing from the chair and giving her a brief hug before she left. He then turned to Sam and Tucker, cocking an eyebrow questioningly. Tucker sighed, glancing at Vlad before turning his gaze back to Danny. "I'm with you, man. I think I speak for everyone one when I say I'm not ecstatic about it...but if you _and_ Jazz agree on this, then so do I. I've got your back no matter what, Danny."

"Thanks, Tuck." Danny shifted his gaze to Sam, who had been rather quiet for a while. The goth girl met Danny's eyes and just stared at him for a long, tense moment...she only nodded, before standing and leaving the room without a word.

Tucker stood and followed his girlfriend, pausing to pat Danny's shoulder comfortingly before leaving the room. There was a moment of tense silence, broken when Grim coughed into his fist. "Ahem, well...that was awkward."

XXX

"This is where you'll stay." Danny opened the door to one of the quest rooms in the newest wing of rooms the younger halfa had created once the Mansion had started to become slightly crowded. Vlad followed Danny into the room and gazed around appraisingly. The room was a carbon copy of the rest of the floor; a black king-size four-poster bed with white bedding dominated the left wall, with a black wooden trunk set at the foot of the bed and two nightstands flanking the headboard. Bay windows set in the far wall allowed the occupant to look out across the Shopping District. Opposite the bed was the door to the bathroom, containing a waterfall shower, an obsidian vanity sink and a linen closet filled with fluffy, white towels.

For the first time in a long time Vlad was awestruck. The room before him was the most extravagant he had seen, rivaled only by a few Five-Star hotels around the world. Being a man who had lived in the lap of luxury for almost two decades, Vlad had to appreciate the sheer beauty of the room. If the _guest_ rooms were this nice, he could only guess what the _master_ bedroom looked like. Vlad turned to Danny and gave a small, grateful bow. "Thank you, Daniel. This room, much like the rest of the Mansion, is quite beautiful."

"You're welcome and thank you." Danny responded politely. "Plumbing and electricity works. I do have a staff that cleans the room and replaces the bedding every other day. They typically do their rounds at lunch, just a heads up, and prefer the room to be empty so they can do their work. Breakfast is at nine, lunch at noon, and dinner at six. Like I said earlier, you're welcome to join us, if not, I can have food sent to your room. You are free to walk the grounds and the city, with an escort, and explore the Mansion, but the basement and occupied rooms are off-limits. Sound good?"

Vlad nodded with a small smile. "Yes. Thank you for your hospitality, Daniel. I promise I will not betray your trust."

"Thank you." Danny returned the smiled and turned to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I promised to spend some time with my daughter. Dinner is in an hour." He paused at the door and glanced back at Vlad. "I know the others are a tad hostile but, if you prove yourself, they'll come around...eventually. Hope you'll join us for dinner." With that, Danny left the room, pulling the door shut with a click.

Vlad stood in the center of the room and gazed around at the spartan, yet comfortable, room and smiled sadly. Even after all these years and all his misdeeds, Danny had treated Vlad fairly and welcomed him, albeit reluctantly, into the young King's home. The older halfa felt a swell of pride in the good man Danny had become. Vlad started towards the bathroom, unbuttoning the faded suit jacket as went and couldn't help but grin at the thought of the first hot shower he'd had in a long time. "Thank you, Little Badger."

XXX

Danny sighed as he descended the stairs to the game room. Today had not gone the way he wanted it, at all. He had thought he had seen the last of Vlad after the Disasteroid incident and seeing the old halfa had been like a wake-up call. Seeing how the smug, superior billionaire reduced to this unkempt and ragged man had tugged at the halfa's core.

The young King had learned many years ago to never hold a grudge, as such a thing could lower even the best of men to become spiteful and hateful. His alternate self, Dark Dan, was a ringing testament to that fact. When Danny saw the man, who had made his first year as a halfa a nightmare, for the first time in seven years, he felt a surge of anger. He wanted to blast the old man with everything the young halfa had and then toss the old man into Walker's prison for the rest of his life.

Danny's anger dissipated in the meeting with Clockwork and Grim. As Danny sat there, listening to Vlad's words with an impassive expression, he had been secretly scanning Vlad's thoughts. While Danny had been fully matured, both as a human and in his ghostly aspect, at the time of his coronation, and although he had mastered all the powers he was capable of, these were not the only powers the young halfa would gain. Once Danny was presented, and accepted by, the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, he had unknowingly gained a handful of new powers only the King of Ghosts and the Masters were capable of wielding. One of these powers, was the ability to scan another ghost's or human's thoughts. While similar to mind-reading, psycho-kinectivity allowed the wielder to merely gloss over one's thoughts to pick up on the strongest emotions presented in the moment.

It was through the use of this power, Danny was able to perform what the humans called a 'polygraph test'. Throughout the entirety of Vlad's speech, the younger halfa kept up a constant stream of passive scanning. Danny was amused to find that while sifting through the contents and emotions Vlad was feeling, the older halfa's mind was set up similarly to that of a filing cabinet one might find in an office...perhaps that of a billionaire CEO. Every word Vlad uttered, every regret and feeling of remorse he displayed, though spoken with a mien of control, spoke loud and clear to Danny. The old man truly did feel remorseful of his past misdeeds. It was then Danny knew what he had to do. Though he would never forget what the older halfa had done, Danny would not block off Vlad's chance to redeem himself. The young King would at least give the older halfa a chance.

Danny sighed before pushing his current stream of thoughts aside. Now was not the time to try and figure everything out. He hadn't seen his little girl all day and he wanted to spend whatever time he had left before dinner with Danielle. Coming up on the basement door, Danny could hear cries of celebration and groans of defeat coming from the room. Pushing the door open, he found Danielle jumping up and down with her hands in the air, in the middle of what was clearly a victory dance. Ember was slumped over on the couch in front of a large flat-screen TV depicting the words 'Game Over' in big block letters.

"Lemme guess." Danny started loudly, smirking when Ember's head to shot up and both girls spun to face him. "The little Phantom here kicked Miss Ember's butt in another game of _Doomed 2_?"

Danielle's face seemed to light up even brighter before taking flight and launching herself into Danny's outstretched arms. Ember stood and glared at the older Phantom. "I swear, Tucker has been teaching her cheat codes or somethin'. If baby-dip really is your kid, there's _no way_ she'd be this good at video games."

Danny couldn't but laugh as he strolled across the room towards the couch and Ember with the little halfa still in his arms. "Please, Tucker couldn't execute cheats in _Doomed_ if he built himself a pair of cybernetic arms to input the cheats for him." Plopping down on the couch, he reached up and pulled Ember down with him, initiating a group hug. Danny regarded his girlfriend with a serious expression. "Are you all right, Angel?"

Ember pulled Danielle into her lap and leaned into Danny's side with a sigh. "I guess. I've cooled down, but I'm still not happy with our newest 'resident'."

Danielle glanced between the two adults with a frown on her face and her brow furrowed cutely in confusion. "Who's here? Another one of your friends, Daddy?"

"Uh, I wouldn't exactly call him a friend, kiddo." Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced at Ember with a questioning look, receiving a hesitant nod before turning back to the little halfa. "Clockwork brought a man here today. Someone I haven't seen in a long time."

"Who?"

Danny sighed heavily and tried to hide a grimace. "Do you...do you remember the bad man I told you about a few years ago, baby girl?"

The little halfa scrunched her brow in thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Plasmius?"

"That's it. Well, that's who grandpa Clockwork brought here. Grandpa told me that Plasmius is here to help me with some people, who are worse than Vlad, who want to try and hurt us; me, you, Ember, Uncle Tuck, and Aunties Jazz and Sam. Vlad has been gone for a long time, Danielle, and he did a lot of bad things to all of us. I don't want you to be alone with him. Always make sure one of us is with you if you go anywhere. Okay?" Danny explained, his core feeling heavy at the sight of Danielle's look of worry and fear.

"Okay. Those bad people...you-you'll keep us safe...won't you, Daddy?" The little halfa's voice trembled slightly.

Danny couldn't hold himself back anymore. The older phantom gather his daughter in a warm embrace, methodically running his fingers through her long, snowy tresses. "I promise you," Danny started, his voice soft but firm. "I will do everything I possibly can to keep you safe. We all will. Don't think your old man has lost a step yet. If anyone so much as looks at any of you the wrong way, they'll wish they'd never been born." Danny pulled back and kissed her forehead before looking Danielle in the eye. "I love you, kiddo."

Ember scooted into Danny's side and playfully poked Danielle's sides. "We _both_ do."

The little halfa smiled warmly, her eyes shining as her father, and the woman she had come to see as mother, comforted her and showered Danielle with all the affection the little Phantom deserved. She threw an arm around her parent's necks and hugged them fiercely. "I love you too, both of you." Danielle settled back in her 'mother's' lap and gave Danny her patented 'puppy-dog eyes'. "Daddy, will you play _Doomed_ with me until dinner?"

"Hmm…" Danny stroked his snowy goatee theatrically. "I don't know…"

This prompted the little halfa to use the fullest extent of her power of cuteness. Danielle widened her eyes just a bit more, stuck out her bottom lip in a playful pout and clasped her hands under her chin in a pleading gesture. "Pleeeaase?"

Danny was rather proud of himself...he managed to resist his daughters ultimate weapon for about ten seconds before ultimately succumbing to the little Phantom's cuteness. The older Phantom sighed theatrically, "oh all right...we can play until dinner."

Danielle whooped in joy and raced to the gaming console to start up the new game. Ember, who had watched the two Phantom's interaction with an amused expression, molded herself into Danny's sighed and smirked. "Wow, you managed to hold out for a full ten seconds. I think that's a new record."

"What can I say?" Danny replied, wrapping an arm around love of his life, and sighing fondly. "With a cuteness factor like that, she could rule the world with just a look. Hell, I'm the King of Ghosts and _I_ couldn't resist it." Ember chuckled and sighed contentedly as the two watched Danielle get the game ready. Danny, however, could feel a shift in his love's emotions, an uneasiness and worry accompanied whatever she was thinking. "What's wrong, Angel?"

Ember was quiet for a moment, just watching Danielle. "I... I'm worried. I understand you wouldn't let Vlad in unless you were positive he had no ulterior motive, but…"

"But you're worried he could be deceiving me." Danny stated, finishing her thought. The Rockstar nodded, nervously twirling the opal-stone guitar pick necklace Danny had given her on their anniversary. The older Phantom sighed and gently squeezed Ember tightly. "I know it may seem like I'm running into this blindly, but I know what I'm doing. During our little meeting with Clockwork and Grim, I was passively scanning Vlad's emotions. I didn't pick up anything that indicated he was lying...but that doesn't mean I'm completely convinced. He will be constantly monitored and under guard. Hell, he hasn't even assumed his ghost form once in the seven years he's been in exile. Not since just after the Disasteroid. We'll just have to be careful and keep an eye on him and Danielle. I'll keep her safe, Angel. I promise."

Ember reached up and brought her lips to Danny's in a tender kiss, pouring every ounce of love she felt for him in their embrace. She broke the kiss with a loving smile, her emerald eyes locked with his toxic-green ones. "I know you will. I love you."

"I love you too." Just as the two were about to meet for another searing kiss, they were broken from their affections by an adorable and irate little halfa.

"Dad! Miss Ember! Would you two break it up? Game now, make-out later!" The two older ghosts blushed and glared playfully at Danielle. Danny snuck one last kiss before grabbing a controller and grinning at the cutely glaring pint-size halfa.

"Sorry, kiddo." Danielle could tell he didn't mean it, but she sat down on the couch with a huff and pressed start on the controller.

XXX

Dinner that night was a... rather awkward affair. At six o'clock, the Team had left their various tasks and gathered together around the large dining table in a large room just off the kitchen. The table was set for eight and featured a half-dozen large dishes, with which the Team had piled their plates high. Various pitchers containing juices, tea, milk, and a honeyed mead - from a cask bestowed to Danny from Princess Dora - were scattered around the table. Danny was seated at the head of the table with Ember on his right and Jazz to his left. Next to Ember was Danielle, with Sam and Tucker seated next to Jazz respectively.

The group had been chatting with one another, laughing, and smiling as they ate. Danny in particular had been cutting into a steak, idly reading a report on that day's town hall meeting Jazz had provided him, when the room fell silent and a feeling of tension filled the air. The older Phantom looked up from his plate and followed everyone's gaze to the doorway at the far end of the room. Vlad stood just inside the entrance, his head bowed and his hands clasped behind his back. The silver-haired halfa had cleaned up quite nicely; his grey beard had been trimmed into a neat goatee and his hair had been washed and trimmed and was pulled back into his signature ponytail. Gone were the dirty rags he wore, replaced with a crisp, white button up long-sleeve shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a pair of charcoal-black slacks.

"Vlad." Danny greeted the older halfa politely.

The older halfa looked up and nodded at Danny before nodding respectfully to the rest of the room's occupants. When he spoke, his voice sounded less rough and livelier. "Daniel. Phantom Family. If the offer still stands, I would be honored to join you in your meal."

Danny nodded and motioned towards the chair at the other end of the table, opposite the younger halfa. "Of course. Please, sit. Tea is in the pitcher to your left, cream sugar in the bowls on your right."

"Thank you." Vlad nodded once more before pulling out the chair and taking a seat. The silence continued, broken only by the sound of Vlad gathering food on his plate and serving himself a cup of tea. The older halfa glanced around the table, his face impassive, and fixed Danny with a blank look, his eyebrow cocked questioningly. The younger halfa nodded and smiled politely before returning his attention to his steak and the report on the table.

After a brief moment of silence, the rest of the table began to chatter once again. The chatter was less lively than earlier but everyone continued on with their conversations, occasionally glancing at Vlad warily. The tension in the air remained but had lessened gradually once the others got more used to the older halfa's presence. Danny glanced up from the report, watching Vlad consume his own steak quietly and with mannerisms befitting that of a man who understood proper dining etiquette. Danny cleared his throat and briefly glowed a muted green, creating a double and sending it down the table to an open seat on Vlad's right.

The older halfa regarded the double with a raised brow. Danny-2 nodded before speaking. "I hope your accommodations were acceptable."

"They are. The room is quite lovely and the shower was very welcome. I must thank you, once again, for your hospitality. I do not deserve it, but it is much appreciated." Vlad replied politely, picking up his tea and taking a small sip.

"You're welcome. There may be some...animosity between us, considering past...events. Regardless, you are a guest in my home. I am trusting you with that much." Danny-2 then raised a brow challengingly. "I trust you will not jeopardize said trust."

Vlad sighed heavily and set his utensils down. He turned to fully face Danny-2 and spoke as honestly as possible. "Daniel, I swear to you, I am a new man. The days of Vlad Plasmius are behind me. All that remains is Vlad Masters, ex-billionaire-CEO and halfa." The older halfa chuckled darkly. "Although, Vlad Masters was not much better than Plasmius, I suppose." He turned his attention back to Danny-2, who sat patiently with his hands clasped together in a relaxed fist in front of his chin. "In any case, I will not break your trust, Daniel. I have spent almost a decade reflecting, and resenting who I one was. I understand my word most likely means nothing at the moment, but I do hope that you will humor a tired old man."

Danny-2 stared at Vlad for a long moment, searching his face and surface thoughts for even a modicum of deceit. Vlad met the younger double's penetrating gaze, his eyes silently pleading with the younger halfa. After several tense minutes, Danny-2 nodded in acceptance. "I can see you are telling the truth."

"I am."

The double held up a hand to stall anything else Vlad was going to say. "Be that as it may, there is a lot to reconcile. Prove to me, and to my family, that you mean every word you have said to me thus far and, hopefully one day soon, we can put the past where it belongs and work together."

Vlad nodded in acquiescence, hope at being able to be in his little badger's life glimmering in his eyes. "I will do anything, just short of humiliating myself, to make amends."

Danny-2 couldn't help but chuckle and gave Vlad a playful pout. "Damn, and here I thought I'd be able to make you go shopping for breakfast cereal. Danielle usually enjoys a bowl of fruit loops for breakfast." At the head of the table Danny snorted quietly, smirking to himself as he took a sip of his mead.

The ex-CEO rolled his eyes good naturedly and chuckled alongside Danny-2 quietly. "Hilarious. Glad to see your Kingly duties haven't dampened your sense of humor."

Danny-2 gave Vlad a cheeky grin before grabbing a wooden flagon full of mead and raising it in a small toast towards the older halfa. "Takes more than responsibility to kill my sense of humor, Vladdie. To family and new beginnings."

Vlad paused for a moment before raising his cup of tea with an amused expression. "To family and new beginnings." The two halfas tapped their respective drinks together before taking a long gulp from their cups. After a while the tension in the room finally disappeared, Danny chatted and laughed with his friends, Danny-2 amicably with Vlad about their powers. The older halfa, being a businessman and having built his own business empire from the ground up, was intrigued and impressed when Danny-2 told him how Akoni City came to be and how the great machine that was Akoni functioned. Vlad was internally excited when the double offered on Danny's behalf to give the older halfa a tour of the city the next day.

It was with full stomachs and restful minds that the Phantom Family and Vlad Masters left the table to turn to their rooms. Vlad would fall asleep that night, in a bed made for a King, with a massive weight lifted from his shoulders and a small smile on his face. Sure, their meeting after all this time had been tense at first, and it would mostly likely be a long while before anyone warmed up to the idea of having him in the Mansion. Regardless, Vlad was adamant in wanting to connect with young King and work on building a relationship, beyond mortal-enemies, with young Daniel.

Vlad grinned up at the ceiling, reveling in the silken sheets of the bed. _'Today was but a stepping-stone. I will do all I can to gain your trust, and prove I am a changed man. In doing so, I will protect you and your family with my life. This I swear to me and you, Little Badger.'_

XXX

 **Whew! Talk about tension, amiright? Well there ya have it. Vlad is now 'unofficially' a part of Team Phantom. Only time (and my decision) will tell when or if Vlad becomes one of the ever-growing Phantom Family.**

 **Anyway, as always, I hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter. I know I did. Leave a review and tell me what you think. I always enjoy what you all have to say!**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	5. Ch 5: Tour d'Akoni

**This is gonna be a bit of a filler chapter. Not sure where I'm gonna go with this chapter but let's see how it goes.**

 **Enjoy!**

XXX

The next morning Vlad woke to a scent he had not smelled in many years. A scent that almost made him believe he had passed on in the middle of the night and was now residing in Heaven or whatever it was those ridiculous theists called the afterlife. It was the smell of freshly cooked _bacon_.

Like a zombie in a cliché monster movie, Vlad sat up in the cloud-like bed and groaned in pleasure from the comfortable night's rest. The old halfa threw off the down comforter, rising from the bed and ambled towards the bathroom whilst rubbing the crust from his eyes. Flipping the light on, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the luxurious bathroom and its many amenities.

"Hmm…" Vlad hummed, looking between the waterfall shower and the jacuzzi tub with a finger to his chin. "Perhaps I'll go with the jacuzzi today." With a grin and thoughts swimming with jacuzzi jets and frying bacon, the old halfa turned the knobs of the tub, allowing the water to flow, shed his sleepwear, and lowered himself into the polished-marble bath. "Ahhh…" Vlad sighed contentedly, sinking down into the foaming, bubbling water. "Daniel, my boy, you certainly know how to live the life of a CEO."

XXX

Forty-five minutes later, Vlad emerged from his room dressed in a pair of black jeans, held up with a black belt, a clean-white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a pair of black, polished casual boots. Once again, his hair was pulled back in his classic ponytail. Vlad wasn't sure _where_ the clothes were coming from - seeing as he had found only casual wear in the lunar research base - but he was quite pleased with the semi-casual attire that had been provided for him.

"Mr. Masters." Vlad turned to find the guard from the GZPD that had been stationed outside his room as part of Danny's conditions for the old halfa. The guard nodded and pointed in the direction of the stairs to the bottom floor. "Lord Phantom and his family have already started breakfast if you wish to join them."

Vlad nodded appreciatively and started towards the stairs with the guard floating a few steps behind him. "Thank you…?"

"Uh...Nightman, Mr. Masters." The guard - Nightman - answered after a pause.

"Thank you, Nightman. I see you are one of Walker's men."

"I am, sir."

"How is the prison? With Walker volunteering his own personnel for security detail, I can only assume it is quite secure." Vlad mused, they were coming up on the stairs and had started their descent.

"Since Lord Phantom took the throne, he has worked hard to ensure the number of monthly escapes is kept very low." Nightman explained as they reached the second floor and started down the hall towards the final flight of stairs. "Phantom collaborated with the Tech-Wizard, Tucker Foley, to develop containment units for the GZ's more... _special_ specters."

Vlad glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the guard. " _Special_ specters?"

Nightman nodded. "Past trouble-makers who refused to acknowledge Phantom's rise to the throne and proceeded to pick fights with him unprovoked, as well as other punks with specialized powers - like Undergrowth and Nocturne."

"I see." The pair walked in silence for a moment before Vlad spoke again, his voice just loud enough for Nightman to hear. "Da- Phantom has done much for the Ghost Zone...hasn't he?"

"More than most of us deserve." Nightman confirmed, nodding his helmeted head. "Since the Joining, the GZ has entered an era of growth and peace. The likes of which it hasn't seen since the time of King Akoni."

Vlad slowed his stride to walked next to Nightman and gave the guard a confused look. "The Joining?"

Nightman nodded, they had reached the final set of stairs and started down. "The day Phantom took the throne, the lairs of the GZ began to converge on his island lair. The homes of the GZ ghosts recognized Lord Phantom's call and, with his word, joined together with his island to form the expanse of land Akoni City is built upon. We call this the Joining, when the GZ became a united body for the first time since its separation from the human plane. in the time of King Akoni and Pariah Dark."

"Incredible." Vlad mused, his face showed his awe while his eyes glowed with the pride he felt for Danny.

"I heard Phantom was going to give you a tour of the city today." Nightman stated, a smirk on his green face. "I think you'll find seeing the city up close and personal to be truly incredible."

Vlad matched Nightman's smirk, nodding his response as they came to the bottom of the stairs and started towards the kitchen where they could hear the Phantom Family laughing and chatting.

Nightman stopped floating and regarded Vlad. "Per Walker and Phantom's orders, I will be your primary guard, until Phantom says otherwise. Since Lord Phantom will be giving you a tour of the city, I will be returning to the prison until this afternoon. Enjoy your day, Mr. Masters."

"Thank you, Nightman. Enjoy yours as well."

With a final nodded, Nightman exited the Mansion. Vlad continued into the kitchen and, spotting Danny, gave a small nod to him and the rest of the family. "Good morning."

Danny smiled and nodded, returning the greeting along with Jazz and Tucker. Sam ignored the old halfa, cutting into her waffles while reading over some paperwork. Ember nodded with a blank expression before turning back to Jazz. Danielle was sat upon Danny's knee, munching on a forkful of pancakes, and chattering away almost hyperactively.

Vlad raised a brow and made a show of glancing around the room. "Is there coffee?"

"In the pot by the fridge." Danny replied, pointing towards the chrome coffee-maker. Vlad nodded his thanks and approached the machine to pour himself a cup. Danny called one of the house ghosts and asked for another setting on the table.

Vlad returned to the table, steaming ceramic mug of black coffee in hand. "Might someone pass the bacon? After seven years of MREs and dried food, I sorely miss pork."

Danny smirked and lazily waved his hand towards the plate of bacon. The plate became enveloped in a field of green energy and floated towards Vlad. "Help yourself. Plenty more if you'd like."

"Telekinesis?" Vlad's brow had shot to his hairline and his jaw was slightly slack. "I am amazed you mastered such a power. Even I had only just begun learning before...my time on the moon."

Danny shrugged, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I'd started training before I took the throne. When I became King, the Crown and Ring seemed to speed up my training. Three years later and I've mastered most ghost powers."

"Really? Even the ecto-shields and your inherent ice powers?" Vlad questioned, slowly filling his plate with his eyes wide and trained on Danny.

"Yup. I found out that if you have a good understanding of physics and geometry, you can understand how to manipulate ecto-shields more effectively." Danny explained. Vlad could see Jazz and Ember smirking out of the corner of his eye. He could only assume there was a rather...amusing story behind Danny studying such subjects. The oldest Phantom continued, unaware of the girls. "I can make my shields as strong or as weak as I'd like and even make them large enough to cover a wide area. Quite a bit of that was mostly trial and error though." Danny admitted, looking rather sheepish and his face flushing in embarrassment.

' _Ah, that explains the amused expressions._ ' Vlad raised a brow at Danny and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin casually. "I take it these...trial and errors are the reason for Jasmine and Miss McLain's smirks?" Vlad smirked when red in Danny's face deepened, causing Jazz and Ember to start giggling.

"Eh-hem, well...uh...sort of." Danny coughed, shooting glares at the giggling girls.

Tucker started laughing. "Oh man! I'd almost forgot about that!" This earned a glare from the thoroughly embarrassed elder Phantom.

Danny turned to Vlad with an annoyed look on his face. "You did that on purpose."

Vlad merely shrugged, his smirk growing into a cheeky grin. "That's a matter of opinion, Daniel." Danny just glared at the smirking older halfa.

"Anyway, I told you I'd give you a tour of the city today. Once you've eaten, we can head out." Danny stated, finishing off his coffee.

Danielle straightened up and looked up at her father. "Oh! Daddy, can I come with?"

"Err...I don't know, kiddo…"

"Please, daddy?" The little halfa stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout.

Ember nudged Jazz and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Three gold says he lasts ten seconds."

"...seven."

"Deal."

Danny stared his daughter down, using all his willpower to hold his ground. Danielle retaliated by widening her eyes and clasping her hands under her chin, her lower lip began to tremble slightly. Vlad raised an eyebrow curiously and noticed the table had fallen silent, everyone watching the showdown almost anxiously. The older halfa was surprised when Danny finally sighed after a moment and nodded his head. Vlad watched as gold coins changed hands between the other four at the table.

Danny glared at the others, all of whom had adopted innocent expressions, before turning to Vlad. "I hope you don't mind that Danielle joins us today."

Vlad merely nodded, sipping on his coffee, and grabbing several strips of bacon from the nearby serving tray. Danny cocked an eyebrow and the older halfa raised his own challengingly. "I have gone seven years without bacon or pork products of any kind. Do not judge."

"Fair enough," Danny replied, chuckling. "I have a few things to finish up before we leave anyway. Find me in the War Room when you've finished." With a round of 'see you later' and a kiss from Ember, the oldest Phantom stood with Danielle on his arm and disappeared up the stairs to the third floor.

Almost as one, Jazz, Ember, Sam, and Tucker all turned their gaze to Vlad. The older halfa noticed and merely raised a strip of bacon to his mouth, eyebrow cocked. "Boo."

Tucker snorted, trying very hard not to laugh. Sam and Ember just rolled their eyes while Jazz shook her head. Vlad smirked and continued to eat his breakfast in silence.

XXX

An hour later Danny found himself in the War Room - his council chamber/private office - reviewing permit requests and projects from various ghosts. He was currently reading over a request from a ghost named Ignatius - one of the on-site supervisors for one of the many mining depots in the GZ - who had requested funds to replace the damaged drilling equipment at his site. Danielle was seated next to him, her tongue poking out of the edge of her mouth, concentrating on the homework Jazz had given her. Just as Danny finished signing the request form there was a knock at his door. Danny called out as he set the form aside and grabbed another from the next stack - a request for a building permit. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Vlad slipped into the room, closing the door before clasping his hands behind his back. The older halfa took a moment to admire the War Room. It was set similarly to an office, with a large wooden desk set at the far end of the room, surrounded by tall shelves, stuffed with books and tomes. In front of the desk was an even larger oval-shaped table with straight-backed desk chairs stationed all around it. The walls were painted black with swirls of green thrown in at odd intervals and the hardwood floor was polished and varnished. Vlad was once again awestruck with the beauty Phantom Mansion held.

Danny glanced up from his paperwork and smirked at Vlad's awed expression. "Surely you've seen enough of the Mansion to not be constantly taken-aback?"

"In the fifteen years I was a billionaire I had seen many of the greatest architectural marvels the modern world had to offer. All pale in comparison to the grandeur of this Mansion." Vlad admitted, crossing the room, and taking a seat in the chair set on the other side of Danny's desk.

"Thank you. It took a lot of ectoplasm and energy to build all of this. Not all at once though, most of the Mansion was added on over the last few years." Danny explained, looking down at the paper before him and signing his name before passing it off and grabbing another. Still reading the new form, he spoke again. "Sorry, I hadn't realized how much paperwork had piled up in the last couple days. This shouldn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes."

Vlad chuckled a bit. "Don't forget, Daniel. I was a CEO for fifteen years. I understand the nuisance that is paperwork." This earned a smirk from Danny. "Might I ask what these forms are?"

"Of course," Danny replied, signing a document, and passing it off for another. "Most of these are permits and requisition forms submitted by various Akoninites. Some for materials and equipment for the few manufacturing companies we have here." He explained, reading through a new form. "This one here is for a land and building permit for a ghost looking to open her own business. Apparently, she has an affinity for pastries and remembers being a pastry chef in her life." Danny nodded and signed the form. Seeing that was the last in the stack, he pressed a button on his desk and began straightening the stack, placing the forms in a manila folder, and tying it all together.

A short ghost with a large greying handlebar mustache and dressed in a black three-piece suit entered the room and strode up to Danny's desk. "You rang, sir?"

"Hey, Marten. Would you mind handing these forms off to Deanna and have her process them?" Danny asked kindly, offering the manila folder.

Marten smiled slightly and accepted the folder. "Of course, sir. I was on my way towards city hall this afternoon anyway."

"Great! Thanks Marten!" The old ghost nodded in a small bow and smiled before leaving the room.

Danny then turned to Danielle. "Hey, kiddo. How's homework comin' along?"

"One second, daddy." Danielle replied, taking a moment to finish with the last couple of questions. She set her pencil down and smiled up at Danny. "Done!"

Danny picked up the papers and started examining her answers. A few of them looked like Danielle had had second thoughts on an answer and had gone back to change them, but the rest appeared correct. Danny smiled and gave his daughter a one-armed hug. "Looks good, princess. Let's leave this here for now and you can have Aunt Jazz take a look later. Sound good?" The littlest halfa nodded and put her work away in a colorful folder before putting that and her pencil in a backpack by her feet. Danny stood and stretched a few times before taking Danielle's hand and motioning towards the door. "Well, Vlad. Let's get this tour started."

XXX

Vlad Masters was getting annoyed. Very annoyed. Just when he thought he had seen everything, something new left him in a state of shock and awe. Akoni was a beautiful city, from its Roman architecture to its peaceful and friendly atmosphere. The older halfa was currently strolling alongside Danny in the Shopping District, Danielle having hitched a ride on the older Phantom's shoulders.

"This street we're on now is the main street for this district. This is where you'll find the more basic businesses; restaurants, outlets and grocery stores." Danny explained as they walked past the many storefronts. "Small side-streets connect to other larger streets where you can find the specialized businesses. The ghosts with special abilities, like Technus and his power over electronics, have built their own businesses on those streets."

"I see." Vlad responded with intrigue. "I heard there are institutions centered around entertainment."

"Yep. There's a movie theatre on both streets that run parallel to this one, a water park at the northern end of the district, and a few playgrounds and parks scattered around here."

"Amazing. I must say, Daniel, what you've done here is...is…" Vlad trailed off, unable to find the proper word to describe Akoni.

"Awesome? Amazing? The bestest place since Atlantis?" Danny and Vlad glanced up at Danielle, a smug look on her face. Danny laughed and jostled the little halfa playfully.

"Got it in one, kiddo."

Vlad smiled sadly at the laughing Phantoms. That was Vlad's dream at one time, to have a family of his own. He knew he had made a mistake when he had created Danielle but seeing the way Danny laughed and hugged the little halfa, this was one mistake Vlad did not feel guilty about.

"C'mon, Vladdie. We got one more district to cover before we head back to the Mansion for lunch." Danny informed, shaking Vlad from his thoughts. The old halfa smiled and fell in beside the father and daughter Phantoms.

XXX

 **So yeah, mostly just a filler chapter. Guess you could say it's kind've a Vlad/Phantom Family interaction chapter. Not my best but it's not my worst...I think.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	6. Ch 6: Ulterior Motive

**Okay guys, are ya ready for chapter 6? I know I am! I also wanna take a moment to thank you all so much for your support of HDR, both the original and this sequel. It's so much fun writing this story and writing in general. So, thank you for joining me on this fun ride.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **Danny POV:**

It's been almost two weeks since Clockwork showed up with Vlad. In that time, I've done what I could to show Vlad around the city and help him understand how everything runs around Akoni. He was pretty confused at first when I told him that the city has a sort of Parliament. I explained that, even though I'm King, Akoni is not a true monarchy and I don't make all the decisions. Sure, people can come to me with the big issue stuff, like writing in laws, focusing on city-wide security, and occasionally some small stuff like building permits and material requisitions, but Akoni is more of a constitutional monarchy.

City Hall often houses what I've pegged the 'Elder Council', which is a group of some of the oldest and wisest ghosts in the GZ. Nobles and faction leaders like Frostbite, Princess Dora and Walker sit on the council, along with Jazz, Sam, and myself. These are the more permanent members. We hold a vote to include common citizens within the council every two years. This allows the citizens of Akoni to voice their opinions and include their ideas to help improve the city and its people. The rest of the council consists of the Masters - most of the time anyway. Often, it's common to see just two Masters during the council meetings, due to the four of them switching off so that two of them at a time can focus on their given duties.

Vlad had been very impressed with all that I had achieved in just a few shorts years since I took the throne. What has really made me happy was that my family were making an effort to warm up to and welcome Vlad to the Mansion. Jazz and Tucker had been wary of the old man at first, but after about a week of Vlad joining us for meals and interacting with us willingly, they started to warm up to the old man and have actually started conversations with him over various subjects.

Sam still isn't happy with his being here, but she's honestly trying. She doesn't glare at him when he enters a room, she'll give her input in a conversation from time to time but hasn't actively engaged in conversation with the old man. Ember is, well...she's kind've in the middle between Sam and Jazz and Tucker. She's not happy he's here, but that's mostly because she's worried about Vlad being around Danielle. Which I can't blame her for. Danielle is my little girl and I would kill to keep her safe. Thankfully, Ember has made an effort to include the old man in some of our family activities and discussions.

Danielle doesn't remember her interactions with Vlad all those years ago, and I can't thank the higher powers enough for that fact. Don't get me wrong, she knows who Vlad used to be, I made sure to warn her about him and not to be around him if one of us isn't with her. My little girl is shy around him, and gets slightly nervous from time to time, but she sees the trust I have in Vlad and she is made an effort to be just as welcoming.

Even I will admit I can be wary of Vlad. You don't just welcome an old enemy, someone who made a year of your life hell, with open arms and naive expectations. I make sure to keep an eye on him or a guard near him at all times. Regardless of the truth I sensed in him from our meeting when he came here, Vlad is Vlad. I will include him, treat him as a friend and welcome him into my home. But I will not leave my guard down. Four years of fighting ghosts and mad men have taught me that lesson. I just hope that I can one day feel comfortable turning my back to Vlad without fear of being blasted with an ecto-ray.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **Vlad POV:**

It has been a long time since I have been truly happy. My home life before college was not ideal. An abusive father who seemed to take many of his ideas of how to raise children from the Motherland directly, and an alcoholic mother who spent more time in the bottom of a bottle that with her own family. It was only due to my intelligence and luck that I gained a scholarship to MIT and got out of that hell of a home. It was during my time at MIT I met two people who would forever change my life; Jack Fenton and Madeline Mercer. We became good friends and dominated the science department with our studies in paranormal research. After my accident, caused by that moronic oaf, I was hospitalized with ecto-acne and suffered years of medicinal and surgical studies and research to cure my condition.

Once my affliction was solved I gained a brief respite. I spent the next fifteen years using my new-found ghost powers to build a massive multi-billion-dollar company. Utilizing my wealth and resources I swore revenge on Jack Fenton, for causing my accident and stealing Maddie from me. I would turn his son, another halfa like myself, against him and ruin his life. All for naught it would seem.

The day the Disasteroid came I saw an opportunity to accomplish my goals. I held the Earth ransom and swore to destroy the asteroid if I became the ruler of Earth. Little did I know the entire thing was the largest concentration of ectoranium ever found. I failed to destroy it and believed the planet to be doomed. It was at that moment I began to realize I had lived my entire life in a state of bitterness. I allowed my hatred of Jack Fenton cloud by better judgement and lived a life of petty jealousy and resentment. I still despise the lumbering oaf, but for different reasons.

All that, however, is now in the past. Seven years of exile have taught me what a life of bitterness and anger leads to. Daniel may not completely trust me, his family may not care for my company and I may be the most hated man in the world, but I will do all I can to redeem myself. If not to the world, then at least to Daniel.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **Third-Person POV**

Vlad glanced up from the tome he had been reading when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in."

The door opened, and Danny walked into the room, a smile on his face. Vlad marked the page he'd been reading and set the old tome aside. He relaxed into his chair and returned Danny's smile. "Ah, Daniel. To what do I owe a visit from the King?"

Danny rolled his eyes as he took a seat across from Vlad. "Funny. I came to see how you were settling in. It's been a busy week for me and I've mostly spent what little free time I have with my daughter and Ember. I feel like a bad host for not checking up on you."

"Please, Daniel." Vlad waved his hand dismissively. "You're a king now, and worse, a family man. I do not blame you for your responsibilities."

"Well, in any case, I figured I'd see how you're adjusting here." Danny shrugged, smiling kindly.

Vlad returned the smile and leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his stomach. "I am enjoying myself here. I'll be honest with you, I've missed luxuries such as these." The two halfas chuckled before Vlad continued. "I must say, Daniel, I am very proud of you."

Danny blushed slightly, ever humble to be embarrassed when receiving praises. "For what?"

"For all that you have done!" Vlad exclaimed, gesturing to the room and beyond. "For the love of butternuts, look at all you have accomplished. You've found yourself a daughter and a woman who loves you. You have become this great king whom his people support unwaveringly, and you've built this incredible city, welcoming all ghosts, and bringing the Zone together under one flag, so to speak." The light in Vlad's eyes seemed to dim slightly and a dark, solemn look came over him. "I just wish… I hate that you had to suffer betrayal from the... _people_ who were supposed care for you and stand by you."

"I have a new family now," Danny replied weakly, seeming to shrink in on himself. "It's whatever-"

"It is NOT whatever!" Vlad almost shouted, clenching the arms of his chair. Danny's head whipped around to stare at the older halfa, his eyes wide. Vlad took a moment to take a few deep breaths and calm himself, relaxing his grip on the chairs arms. He continued in a quiet but firm voice. "It is not whatever, Daniel. I may have been an egotistical 'fruit loop', as you would say, but I would have never done something so abhorrent towards a child. Especially my own...if I had children, that is."

Danny took a moment to clear his head of shock. Had Vlad just defended him? Against his parents, no less? Jack he could understand, Vlad had hated the large man since the accident, but Maddie? Danny leaned forward and cleared his throat. "Vlad, really, it's okay. I've renounced them as my parents. I even got rid of the name. Danny Fenton died the day they betrayed me. Even Jazz has taken the Phantom name."

"I am sorry, Daniel. When Clockwork told me, what had happened that day…" Vlad trailed off, a haunted and sad look in his eyes. "To think Maddie would do such a thing to her own child… It has certainly changed my opinion of the woman I once loved." He admitted somberly.

Danny remained silent, giving the old halfa a chance to recollect himself. Vlad finally shook himself out of his stupor after a few minutes and turned his midnight-blue gaze to Danny, there was a look of hesitant nervousness in his eyes. "Daniel… I'd like to explain myself. I want to tell you the reasons behind why I did what I did all those years ago."

"Okay…" Danny replied, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Vlad sighed and settled into his chair once more, his gaze still locked on Danny. "All of my schemes were not as malevolent as they would appear. Admittedly, at first, I did want to get rid of Jack Fenton and adopt you as my successor… however, when I discovered Jack Fenton's son had suffered a similar accident like I had, my goals changed." Danny listened with rapt attention, a fire seemed to spark in the old halfa's eyes. "I saw a lot of myself in you, Daniel. A young man, lost in the world with responsibilities way beyond what any young man should have to deal with. A young man looking to make a name for himself in the world.

"After our first fight, I changed my tune and decided to play different melody. I would help this boy, the second of his kind, to become the strong and confident young man that he should be. Did you ever notice how I would demonstrate a different ability any time we fought?"

Danny thought about it for a moment, recalling what battles with Vlad that he could. "Now that you mention it… Yeah, I do. I remember being annoyed whenever you decided to 'show off', and I would practice for weeks to recreate what you could do." Vlad smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yes, that was my intended goal. I would demonstrate my abilities to you, in hopes that you would strive to better yourself, to train yourself to become stronger." Vlad snorted slightly, something that left Danny in disbelief, having never heard the 'great Vlad Masters' actually snort. "I may have acted like a 'fruit loop' during our encounters, but I had to keep up appearances. If I just randomly changed my behavior towards you it would have made you more suspicious of me." It was Danny's turn to snort in amusement, shaking his head with a smile. Vlad leaned forward with his own smile. "All I ever wanted, Daniel, even more than Maddie's love, was to help you become the strong, kind, confident man you are today."

Danny felt his eyes start to sting. Here was a man who had made a year of his life utter hell, doing everything in his power to secretly help him become stronger. It hurt Danny a little, realizing the man that sat before him had done more for Danny in that one year since the accident than Jack Fenton had done most of his life. Danny took a shuddering breath, wiping the moisture from his eyes before looking back at Vlad. The old halfa seemed to understand what Danny was thinking, a sad, compassionate smile on his aged face.

Vlad stood and walked the short distance to the bay window, folding his hands behind his back and gazing out at the city. "I may not have been a great man, Daniel. However, despite my actions, I do hope that you will one day forgive-"

"Vlad."

The old halfa turned to find Danny standing before him, an unreadable expression on his face. Before Vlad could say anything, Danny threw his arms around Vlad's chest in a hug. The old halfa was caught off guard, frozen in shock. Danny sniffed, cursing the sting of tears in his eyes. "Thank you. For everything."

Vlad hesitated briefly, before returning the embrace, patting Danny on the back with a comforting hand. "You are welcome, Little Badger."

Danny laughed, pulling out of the hug. "You're still a fruit loop though. Just a more laid-back fruit loop." Vlad chuckled and shook his head, patting Danny on the shoulder.

"Fair enough. Now," Vlad clapped both Danny's shoulders and turned towards the door. "I believe it's time for lunch." With that, the two halfas, who were once enemies, walked out of the room, side by side, smiles on their faces and a new-found respect for one another. And if either of them had felt a familial bond start to form, then so be it.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **Third-Person POV:**

"Colonel Z."

Colonel Alexander Zauer stopped in his tracks and turned to find one of his white-suited agents approaching him. The agent was bald, as was required for the agents as were the white suits, dark-skinned and stocky. The Colonel recognized the man, having dealt with this agent and his department many times throughout the years. Zauer nodded at the man. "Agent F."

F stopped a few feet from his superior and saluted the man. Zauer returned the gesture and motioned for the man to speak. "Sir, I have an update on the current status of base thirty-seven, codename: Lunar, and by extension public enemy number two, codename: Plasmius."

Zauer raised a brow in interest, he motioned the man and continued down the sterile hallway towards his office. "Walk with me, agent."

The pair walked in silence, taking a few minutes to travel the remainder of the large subterranean facility, before entering the Colonel's office. Agent F closed the door and took a seat in the chair in front of the large oak desk, behind which the Colonel sat. Zauer set his elbows on the desktop and folded his hands. "Report, Agent."

"Sir, the boys and I in Surveillance were performing monthly inspection of GIW's bases not currently occupied and came across something rather...odd." F informed, his brow furrowed.

"Odd how, Agent?"

"As you are aware, codename: Plasmius had taken up residence within Lunar base seven years ago. Under your orders we have kept surveillance up on the base. Due to inactivity from Plasmius in that time, we deemed said surveillance was not top priority, so we kept passive observation. During inspection we discovered Lunar base to be empty."

The Colonel remained silent for a moment, then raised a brow questioningly. "And? Plasmius has been observed to leave the base to venture around the Moon from time to time."

"That is true, Sir," the Agent agreed, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "H-however, scans of the base inform us the ecto-energy given off by Plasmius has weakened. Bio-scans read that the ambient energy to be deteriorating, taking effect approximately twelve days ago."

Zauer furrowed his brow in confusion. "You believe he has returned to Earth then?"

"No, Sir." Zauer cocked his head, even more confused. Agent F cleared his throat before soldiering on. "Drone and satellite scans have not picked up any trace of ecto-energy anywhere in the space between the base and Earth. It seems as if he has...disappeared."

"Impossible." Zauer stated, leaning back in his chair. "Plasmius does not possess any teleportation ability, like codename: McLain, or reality-tearing ability, like codename: Wulf."

The agent had started to grow nervous with the carefully controlled calmness of the Colonel's voice. A light sheen of sweat spotted his bald head. "We had reasoned such as well, Sir. So, we performed scans of the Moon to its entirety, and the surrounding space. We have even performed scans of the Mansion in Wisconsin, as well as Amity Park. We have found no trace of Plasmius anywhere."

The Colonel folded his hands in front of his face and took a long moment to think. What ghost would have the ability to simply disappear? Plasmius was a powerful entity, but even he was not that strong. It would take a very old, and very powerful ghost to simply disappear. Zauer perked slightly as a thought began to niggle its way into his mind. "During your scan...did you find anything else? Anything...strange?"

Agent F furrowed his brow in thought before perking up. "Actually, now that you mention it, Sir, we did. Our scanners were set to focus only on Plasmius' ecto-signature, however passive scanners picked up a weak reading of a powerful ecto-signature. We disregarded the signature, deeming it too weak to be worth identifying."

"Weak? As in having been there before Plasmius occupied the base and faded over the years?"

"No, Sir. More like the signature had remained there for less than an hour."

Zauer's brow shot to his hairline. "A signature reading identifying a ghost had been in the base for less than an hour, and yet there is still a trace less than two weeks later? The entity that left that behind would have been immensely powerful, agent." He mused, rubbing his chin with a weathered hand. "Perhaps powerful enough to open a portal to come and go between the portal's origin and Lunar base." The Colonel muttered to himself.

"Sir?" The agent asked, awaiting further orders.

Another thought had occurred to the Colonel. A thought he had not had in just over three years. "Agent...has there been any update regarding Public Enemy No. 1?"

F furrowed his brow again in confusion. "Phantom? No, Sir. No activity has been recorded since his disappearance three years ago."

"And the status of Amity Park?"

"Amity has had little to no ecto-entity activity since Phantom's disappearance," F informed. "If it weren't for the Fenton's portal, I would have said they had shut it down."

Zauer cocked an eyebrow. "The Fenton portal is still open? And yet, no activity?"

"None, Sir."

"I don't like this, agent. A massive spike of energy in Lunar base, the disappearance of Plasmius and a lack of entity activity in Amity despite the Fenton portal has remained active? Something is not right." Zauer growled, his scarred face full of frustration.

Agent F cleared his throat nervously. "What are my orders, Sir?"

The Colonel remained silent for a moment, obviously deep in thought. After a few minutes, Zauer fixed his hard gaze on F, causing him to squirm in his seat. "I want an investigative team to scout Amity. If they find nothing, I want an infiltration team to get inside Fentonworks and, if possible, get inside that portal. You have one month."

"Yes, Sir." Agent F stood and saluted Zauer. The Colonel returned the gesture, prompting the agent to leave.

Zauer leaned back in his chair and opened the locked cabinet in his desk. From it, he pulled out a decanter of amber liquid and a crystal tumbler. Pouring himself a finger of aged scotch he raised the tumbler to his lips, taking a sip of the amber liquid. "Vladimir Plasmius...where are you?"

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **So, like with most of my chapters I just start typing and sort of wing it for the most part. The bonding moment between Vlad and Danny was purely spur of the moment and I had actually written it after the GIW scene. I've found I have some talent for writing bonding and romance and I think I did a pretty decent job.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	7. Ch 7: White Suits and Black Chess Pieces

**After long last, chapter 7 is here, my lovelies. I wonder what we shall find this chapter?**

 **On to review responses!**

 **DragoonSensei: I suppose we'll just have to read and see, won't we? Heh-heh-heh.**

 **TheOneThatUsesPhantomEyes: I appreciate that m8. I'm glad you're enjoying my writing!**

 **chipman27: I endeavor to put myself in the character's shoes and attempt to emulate their personality and mannerisms, with some of my own tweaks. You might notice, if you read closely in earlier chapters, that Danny's mannerisms and speech changes depending on who he is talking to. With Vlad and the Masters, his speech is formal, and he enunciates. With Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Ember and Dani his speech is more relaxed and informal. Just the little things. As for the mother question, I'm a little indecisive about what I want to do. If I mention it in this story, it would be a brief mention and not very major. If I don't, I might do a third story, just a few chapters long. Thank you for your support!**

 **Alright people hope you enjoy!**

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 _Amity Park_

 _Fentonworks_

Madeline Fenton shut off her welding torch when the distinct ringing of the doorbell issued through the speakers of the lab. Maddie turned to her husband, who was fiddling with a new piece of Fenton tech. "Jack, could you get the door?"

Jack looked up from the jumbled mess of wires and metal and smiled. "Sure thing, Mads. I'll be back in a jiff." The mountain of a man crossed the lab and mounted the steps, hollering when the bell rang again. "Hold your horses, I'm comin'!"

Jack crested the stairs and crossed the living room to the front door just as the bell rang for a third time. "I told you, I was-" The Fenton patriarch stopped mid-sentence when he opened the door to find a pair of white-suited men with shaved heads and black sunglasses.

One of the men, a black man holding a black leather satchel, stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Mr. Fenton, I am Agent W," Jack shook the offered hand and the agent motioned to his companion, a white man with a rather stoic expression. "And this is my colleague Agent B."

"Uhm, nice to meet you guys." Jack greeted politely, his expression one of confusion. "But why is the GIW here in Amity? Don't know if you guys have noticed, but we've lacking in ghost activity for quite a while."

Agent W adjusted his shades and nodded. "Precisely why we're here, Mr. Fenton. The Director has felt it necessary to mount an investigation into the dramatic drop of ecto-entity activity."

"Oh? Well, why don't you come in?" Jack stepped aside allowing the Agents in. The trio entered the kitchen. "Take a load off. I'll just grab my wife and we can get down to business." While the agents took a seat at the kitchen table, Jack ventured back down into the lab to find Maddie. He found the redhead hunched over one of the lab tables, soldering what appeared to be a circuit board. "Hey, Mads!"

Maddie looked up at her husband with a smile. "Jack, who was at the door?"

Jack grinned and seemed to bounce in place like a little kid. "You'll never guess, Mads! The GIW! They're here! Well, two agents anyway. They're in the kitchen, and they want to talk to us about the ghost activity around Amity!"

"That's odd." Maddie muttered, her brow scrunched together in confusion. She shook it off and smiled at her husband. "Well, let's not keep them waiting, hun." The two ascended the stairs and joined the agents at the kitchen table.

Agent W - quite clearly the unofficial spokesperson for the duo - stood and stuck out his hand. "Mrs. Fenton, I am Agent W, and this is Agent B. I take it your husband has informed you of why we are here?"

Maddie shook the agents offered hand before taking a seat next to Jack. "A little. He told me the GIW is now interested in the lack of ghost activity in Amity. Why now? The sensors in our Observation Deck haven't noticed anything stronger than a level two in three years."

Now, the Agents were under strict orders not to reveal the real reason behind this visit - namely, finding a method to gain control of the Fenton Portal and infiltrating the Ghost Zone - so the agents stuck to a premeditated script. W opened the satchel he was carrying and produced two, one-inch thick file folders, filled with documents. "The GiW is a rather… _minute_ department, having only a handful of facilities scattered across the United States, and only a dozen of our international facilities spread across Europe and a select few other countries around the world.

"Admittedly, with the natural influx of portals that appear in Europe, the organization has not kept up to date with every point of interest on the map." W explained, pausing to take a drink of water that Jack had offered, before continuing. "We have kept a mostly passive surveillance over Amity. Taking a few moments every few months to check the readings of town's presence of ambient ecto-energy. We had noticed a decline in the energy reading a few years ago," W noticed the Fentons glance at each other knowingly and made a mental note to find out why later. "But nothing that had caused immediate alarm. Now, however, my C.O. has ordered us to investigate why entity activity has dropped so dramatically."

Jack cleared his throat and crossed his arms on the table top. "What can we do to help, agents?"

"Simple really; allow us access to your observatory and sensors, assist us on patrols and help us solve this puzzle." W relaxed into his seat, arms crossed, and allowed the Fentons to think it over. While Jack and Maddie were whispering to each other, W glanced over at his partner. B surreptitiously glanced at a device on his wrist and nodded. W smirked, everything was going as planned. All they needed was the Fentons approval and they could proceed.

After a moment, Jack and Maddie looked up and smiled at the agents with excitement. Maddie took the lead. "We would be thrilled to work alongside the GiW."

"Excellent," W nodded, feigning a small smile. "My colleague and I will inform our director. For now, we'd like a tour of your lab and the observatory."

"Sure thing, gents!" Jack boomed, everyone standing as he stood. "Right this way!"

 **HDR HDR HDR**

A few hours later the agents left Fentonworks with carefully hidden satisfaction, their ever-stoic masks in place. A key component to their plan was to have agent W keep the Fentons distracted with menial questions while agent B surreptitiously recorded and scanned as much information and technical data as he could in the short window they had. For the first time that day agent B cracked a minute smile, the mountain of data they had collected would be a big leg up in moving forward with the operation.

As satisfied with the data they had collected, neither was looking forward to the hours it would take to comb through said mountain. As the two agents drove down the road in their government issued white SUV, W took a moment to glance through a few of the digital files B had copied from Fentonworks private servers. "The number of specs they have is ridiculous. Just the data you grabbed from the observatory alone will take days to comb through."

B grunted, signaling to change lanes. "Should've had the eggheads look it over."

"Agreed," W said, nodding as he continued swiping through the files. "But, with the field agents being pulled back to HQ Central, the job falls to us."

"Could call the Director. Send the data to the techies."

W shook his head, powering down the tablet. "Already checked before we left. The Director wants all of this off the record."

"We're on our own?"

"We're on our own." W confirmed.

B shook his head as they pulled up in front of the hotel they had rented a room in. "Dammit."

 **HDR HDR HDR**

"Holy shit." W breathed, his eyes wide and jaw slightly slack.

B glanced up from his share of the files he'd been reviewing on his tablet. "What is it?"

After leaving Fentonworks with their mountain of data, the two agents tackled the grueling task of combing through everything head on. Four days had passed, and in that time, they had realized the Fentons were cleverer than the ghost hunting community gave them credit for. A significant portion of the data they had copied from the private server was all useless information and records. Schematics for Fenton Patented kitchen appliances, recipes for fudge, proper and family secret methods for cooking a ham. To the untrained eye, an observer might mistake the data for useless, sentimental information. GiW agents, however, were trained to look for patterns and read between the lines.

Beneath all that useless information lie the real data. Hundreds of encrypted files, all with Maddie Fenton's digital fingerprint in the coding. It was discovering these files that left the normally cold and calculating agents feeling ecstatic. It was on the fourth day of decrypting the files that W stumbled upon something that would change GiW operations, the world, and the Ghost Zone forever.

W looked up from the laptop and stared at his partner with wide, excited eyes. This got B's attention, though his partner was nowhere near as stone faced as he, W hardly cracked his stoic facade. W spoke quietly with a hint of a grin. "The Director is going to shit a solid gold brick when we show him this."

"Show him what?" B asked, crossing the room, and leaning over his partner's shoulder to look at the screen. The file currently opened contained several equations, notes and what looked like blueprints. "What is all this?"

W looked up at his partner, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "Blueprints and equations depicting how to build a ghost portal."

 **HDR HDR HDR**

"Oh my. This is unfortunate." Clockwork muttered worriedly, his eyes fixed on the viewing portal in front of him.

Grim looked up from his Ghost Zone issued magazine, Scythes Monthly. "What's wrong?"

"I have gotten a glimpse of what, or _who_ , will threaten the Ghost Zone." Clockwork spoke gravely, his normally emotionless face an expression of grim anger.

The Reaper, the very representation of Death, the immortal Boogeyman, was now genuinely worried. It took a lot to anger his oldest friend. Whatever, whoever, this threat was, Grim was sure the GZ was in for dark days. The Reaper sat up straighter in his chair, subconsciously grabbing his scythe tightly. "What are we up against, my friend?"

"I believe you know of the human government's secret ghost hunters?" Grim stiffened and gripped his scythe hard enough to crack his boney knuckles. Clockwork continued. "Yes. The organization so aptly named, the Guys in White, have gotten their hands on valuable data from the Fentons."

"...What did they find?"

Clockwork's face turned to that of an expression of eerie calmness. "Files on how to build a ghost portal."

"Son of a bitch." Grim slumped back into his chair, his jaw hung comically. "You realize what this means?"

"Yes," the Time Master nodded gravely. "Should they be successful in building the portal, the GiW could invade the Ghost Zone anywhere at any time." Clockwork paused, and his eyes took on a hopeful look. "There is some consolation, however."

"And what's that?"

"The only reason the Fenton Portal activated was due to our King acting as a catalyst to bridge our realm and the human's. The Fentons never figured this out, therefore never recorded this fact."

Grim perked up and appeared thoughtful for a moment. "That may be true, but how was Masters able to stabilize his portal?"

"I believe, due to Mr. Masters' pre-existing exposure to ghost DNA, the bridge was already open for him." This seemed to reassure the Reaper, his mind slightly more at ease. "I shall monitor the GiW as much as I can, but my sight is limited."

"I understand, my friend." Grim nodded and stood. "I cannot interfere directly and take a soul before its time, but I will deploy what spirits I can to keep an eye on the GiW as well."

Clockwork gave his oldest comrade a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, my friend. We may not be able to alter the flow of time to prevent what will come but keeping informed will certainly give us an advantage."

Grim gave Clockwork a skeletal grin and slashed his scythe through the air, cutting open a swirling portal. The Reaper began to enter the portal before he glanced back at the Time Master. "Should we inform the King?"

The old ghost stroked his white beard thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head. "Not yet. Let us take some time to gather more information before we report to young Daniel. Perhaps in a few days."

"Very well. Goodbye, my friend. I will see you then." With a nod and a small smile from Clockwork, Grim stepped through the portal which promptly disappeared with him.

Clockwork turned back to his viewing portals, glancing between the scene of the GiW agents and another depicting Danny and Vlad. "The coming months will test you, my boy. The challenges you will face will stretch you to your limits, but you must not give up hope. Through the will and strength of you and your family, you will prevail." Clockwork watched with a sad smile as Danny turned to Vlad, in the viewing portal, and the two halfas smiled at each other. "All is as it should be."

 **HDR HDR HDR**

Vlad grinned at the younger halfa evilly, his steely-grey eyes glinting deviously. "Just give up, Daniel. I have more than thirty years of experience over you, you cannot win."

"Stuff it, old man." Danny glared at the old halfa, his eyes green and burning with the intensity of a small bonfire.

"Such a mature come-back, Daniel, and so eloquently put!" Vlad exclaimed in mock exaggeration. "Perhaps if you put more thought into your strategy, you would make a more challenging opponent."

Danny merely glared, scowling slightly. Before long he smirked and shot Vlad a smug look. "Try this one on for size, Fruit-Loop." The king of ghosts took a hold of his black, king chess piece and moved it a few spaces. Danny leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and smiling smugly.

Vlad smiled and clapped sarcastically. "Very good, Daniel. You're improving," Danny grinned proudly. "Only, you forgot about _this_." Grabbing one of the white chess pieces with his thumb and forefinger and shifting it several spaces and knocking over Danny's king with an exaggerated flourish. "Check-mate."

Danny gaped, staring at the chessboard dumbfounded. He glanced up to see Vlad smirking smugly with his arms crossed. Danny crossed his own arms and slumped in his chair, grumbling under his breath. He sighed resignedly and smiled at Vlad, "good game, old man."

"You know, this 'old man' is getting just a bit tired of being referred to as an 'old man'." Vlad remarked blandly, eyebrow cocked and a slight twitch of his lip taking the sting from his words.

"Better than Fruit-Loop, right?" Danny returned, smirking.

Vlad rolled his eyes and returned the smirk. The pair of halfa's started packing away the chess set in a comfortable silence. It was broken when Danny spoke to Vlad. "I'm sorry."

Vlad froze, his hand inches from the final chess piece and a look of confusion on his face. "Sorry? Whatever for, Daniel?"

Danny didn't answer right away, his gaze fixed on the now empty chessboard. "I doubted you. When you first came here, I felt like the past was catching up with me and everything good that I had was going to be taken away." The halfa paused and looked up at Vlad with a solemn expression. "All these years you've been gone, and in that time, I blamed you for everything that went wrong since I stepped into that gods-be-damned portal. I hated you. Sam, Ember, we hated everything that you had done to us. And I wanted so bad to turn you away." Vlad was frozen in surprise, his eyes wide and unblinking. Danny had a slightly shiny sheen to his now icy-blue eyes. "Of course, I couldn't do that. I wouldn't be so petty as to turn away someone, who was almost begging for redemption. I agreed to let you in, to join us, purely on Clockwork's word.

"I chose to trust Clockwork's decision and, by extension, put my trust in you. Yet, despite all of that, I was wary of you. How could a victim change his views in such a short time? At first, I thought it was impossible...improbable, even. So, I posted guards, kept an eye on you, took precautions, because I just _knew_ you would do _something_." Danny hung his head with a shamed look. "And yet...after all this time and all my doubts, I was proven wrong. In the weeks that you've been here, you have proven repeatedly that you are truly a changed man."

Vlad sunk into his chair, still staring at Danny in wide-eyed shock. Where was this coming from? The boy had never been so open with these types of emotions, except for Ember, Vlad supposed. What had caused this sudden outburst? "Daniel...where is all this coming from? Why this sudden change of thought?"

Danny seemed to retreat into himself, a reflex he had developed from his childhood. _No, those days are over. Daniel Phantom is no longer the victim. No longer ignored. I am the King of the Ghost Zone._ The younger halfa shook himself and stiffened his resolve. He gazed back at Vlad openly, his face carved from granite, but his eyes swam with emotion. "Remember a couple of weeks ago, when you told me _why_ you did the things that you did? Why you challenged me so much? Well, I've spent these weeks thinking about everything. Comparing and considering, doubting, and reevaluating. I understand what you did and why you did it, and... I've come to realize something. Something ironic and kind've funny."

"And what's that?" Vlad questioned, spellbound.

Danny smirked, a lone tear welling up in his eye. "Despite your roundabout way of doing things, you did more for me in that year since I stepped into the portal than my own father had in my whole life."

Vlad's face became hard as stone and his grey eyes burned with anger. Jack Fenton, that lumbering, foolish oaf. Truly a disgrace and unworthy of being a father. Not a day went by where he didn't curse Jack Fenton and felt saddened by the truth of his beloved Maddie. Many times, he had to force himself to calm himself through meditation, lest his hands burst into crimson bolts of electricity and destroy half the room. Vlad breathed deeply and took a long, slow exhale, forcing himself to calm down.

"I know...I know I am not your father, Daniel. And I am sure there are possibly legions of people who would make better fathers than I…" Vlad paused, steeling his resolve and looking Danny in the eye. "I am not your father...but there has never been a day where I haven't wished I was. I was jealous of Jack, not only because he had Maddie, but because he had you and your sister. The apples of his eye, and a couple of the strongest-willed and most capable children I had ever met and he...he... _neglected_ what he had. Squandered his good-fortune and then turned his back on his children. His family!" Vlad was getting worked up, his breathing heavy and fists clenched, knuckles turning white. "You and Jasmine may not be mine, but I care greatly for you children. I promise, Daniel, I will be here to protect and love your family for as long as you will allow me to. Like a proper man should." The old man bowed his head, struggling to calm himself.

"Vlad." The old halfa glanced up at Danny reluctantly, steeling himself for the rejection he knew was coming. Danny's voice was firm but soft, and his eyes had gone green once again, burning like a warm, yet gentle, flame. "Despite your backwards methods and your general Fruit-Loop-iness," Vlad cracked a half-hearted smile. "You have proven that you care deeply for this family and will remain loyal to the Phantom line. You are not my father. I am not your son."

Vlad shrank a little in his chair and seemed down-trodden. He was caught off guard when Danny smiled gently and stuck out his hand. "But I'd like to change that." For the first time in a long, long time, Vladimir Masters had tears in his eyes and a stupid grin on his face. Foregoing the offered hand, Vlad stood and pulled Danny from his seat and wrapped the younger halfa in a bear hug, which was returned with as much enthusiasm.

"I would like nothing more, Little Badger. Thank you." Vlad whispered, his voice wavering slightly. Danny just smiled, pleased to have made the man who had been more of a father to him than his own happy. The Phantom family had a new member. Danny finally had the father he deserved.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 **Gods, that took forever to crank out. I have been SOOO friggin busy in the last few weeks, it's ridiculous. Now that school is over, my days are full of work, and fixing my p.o.s. car, in which the transmission is now starting to slip so I get to have even more fun! Yay!**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry for the wait. I've gotten my eyes on quite a few Harry Potter fics lately, with which I have been simply captivated with. I made sure to include some more GiW activity and I've brought the Fentons in again as well as the Masters. Things are definitely starting to stir up. So, get ready!**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	8. Ch 8: So It Begins

**Usually I'd do some review responses here, but they were all mostly the same or carried the same theme. So, I'm glad you liked the Vlad and Danny family moment. Like I said a few chapters ago, I've found I'm pretty decent at writing emotional pieces, and that's mostly due to me drawing on personal experiences, with the exception of a few. I will do one response however, mostly due to its rather abundant amount of questions.**

 **Factcatjohn: With a time frame of around three months (not set in stone) for the GiW to build the portal, I will bring in some more family interaction, while also focusing on preparing for the coming conflict. Also, I haven't mentioned it, although now I am realizing this, but many of Team Phantom don't really miss much of the human realm. Of course they miss their families (Tucker and Sam), I just didn't think to touch on this. I will work it in in a future chapter. Glad you're enjoying the story so far though!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **HDR HDR HDR**

In Akoni's city hall there are a number of meeting rooms, ranging from simple offices to large council chambers. It was in one of these council chambers that the Elder Council had been called to gather by Clockwork. Present were Frostbite, Princess Dora, and Walker on one side of the huge conference table along with Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. On the other side sat Clockwork and Grim, along with their sisters Theodon and Mother Nature. Danny was seated at the head of the table with Ember on his left and Vlad on his right.

Danny rubbed the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger, attempting to alleviate the hammering migraine that had started forming not long after the start of the meeting. He shot Ember a grateful smile when she started to gently massage the back of his neck. Danny turned to Clockwork and sighed tiredly. "The GiW then?"

Clockwork nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, my boy. Grim and I have spent the last three days and four hours monitoring as much as we can in the human plane. Due to the Fenton's rather dimwittedness, the GiW has gotten their hands on schematics to build a ghost portal."

Frostbite stroked his furry chin with his icy hand thoughtfully for a moment. "Have they been able to decipher these schematics?"

"No," Grim replied. "At least, not yet. From what my shades have been able to gather, the Technical Department has, at least, a decent amount of intelligence. I'll keep up what surveillance I and my shades can, but I'd suspect they'll at least have it built within a couple months, maybe more."

Terra growled in disgust, gently stroking the soft, downy fur of the glowing-green rabbit in her lap. The Mistress of Earth was a rather strikingly beautiful woman with earthen-colored skin, raven hair that shined like silk and had a generally sunny disposition. Her eyes were that of a lush green forest, glowing with power. She spoke with a pure Irish lilt that resonated like a bell. "Wankers tha lot of 'em. They care not fer Nature, nor do they respect it. I'd clap them as grub fer tha trees if I could." *****

"Peace, sister," Theodon admonished gently. The Mistress of Reality was just as beautiful as her sister; her alabaster skin glowed with a purplish hue, and her long, raven hair was twisted in a perfect braid to her lower back. Terra calmed herself with difficulty; Mother Nature, after all, was untamable. Theodon patted her sister's hand and smile softly before turning to the rest of the council. "We must prepare for when these pathetic mortals do come. A shame my gauntlet was destroyed, it could have made our situation easier to solve." The Reality Mistress stated, fixing Danny with a pointed look, her tone teasing.

Danny blushed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Err...right...sorry about that."

"Nonsense, Lord Phantom." Theodon smiled warmly. "I can't think of any one more...mmm, _endowed_ to wield my gauntlet." The Mistress winked at a now red-faced Danny. Ember growled, her eyes narrowed and the flames of her hair flaring dangerously.

The men around the table chuckled nervously, their eyes darting between Ember and Theodon. Terra broke the tension and lightly smacked her sister on the arm. "Sister quit teasin' tha Lord"

"Oh, very well, sister." Theodon relented, rolling her eyes.

"Let's get back on track, shall we?" Walker growled, his arms crossed and a scowl on his skeletal face. "We got more important things to be worryin' about at the moment. Like makin' sure these punks don't break my rules and get that damn portal runnin'."

Clockwork nodded. "Quite, Warden Walker. The portal will be constructed, not much can be done to prevent this. However, there is a chance the GiW may not be capable of getting said portal operational."

Everyone, aside from Clockwork, Grim and, surprisingly, Vlad, looked confused. Frostbite cleared his throat. "Master Clockwork, what do you mean?"

"He's speaking of the catalyst."

The rest of the council turned to Vlad collectively with expressions of surprise and confusion.

Vlad sighed and settled into his chair, chin resting on a closed fist. "The only reason my portal, and the Fenton's portal, was able to activate was due to catalyzation through the inclusion of human DNA. Granted I was already a halfa when I built my portal, so I was able to bypass the catalyzation process. Daniel is the only halfa who has ever truly experienced 'the bridge'."

"In other words, the GiW building the portal is pointless if they don't know about the bridge." Danny commented, feeling slightly relieved.

Sam, ever the realist, looked apologetic. "That is, unless they accidentally discover 'the bridge'." The council exchanged uneasy looks and waited for Sam to continue. "Don't get me wrong, the GiW aren't exactly the most intuitive bunch. But even a child can get into trouble almost effortlessly."

"Aye, tha lass is right," Terra stated grimly, nodding in agreement. "I've watched humans with ther toys throughout tha centuries. With ther bloody bombs and deforestation machines. They'd ignore what little conscience they have ter further themselves through technology."

Grim huffed and seemed to pout. "With all due respect, sister, humans and their 'toys' are what keep me in business."

Terra ignored the Reaper and turned to their eldest sibling. "So, Tick-Tock? What do we do?"

"I believe that is Lord Phantom's decision to make." Clockwork replied, a smile tugging at his mouth. The council turned to Danny.

Danny ran a hand through his snowy hair and sighed. Ember smirked, and her core skipped a beat as she watched her love's demeanor switch to that of his Kingly role; his face set in stone, eyes blazing with a power that demanded respect and loyalty. It was this demeanor that got the Rockstar's ectoplasm running hot and her face to flush. Danny Phantom was a gorgeous and wonderful man, but King Phantom was a sexy, powerful god of a man that really knew how to turn a ghost girl on.

"Clockwork, Grim. I want you two to continue running surveillance." Danny's voice was as powerful as his eyes, its deep bass demanding their attention while remaining free of arrogance or belittlement. "Keep an eye on their main headquarters and the bases closest to Amity. Mistresses Theodon and Terra, do what you can to ensure the GiW remains... _distracted_. The longer it takes them to build the portal, the better."

Theodon and Terra smiled evilly and nodded at their King, mind's racing with rather mischievous plans. Danny then turned to Walker and Frostbite. "Walker, I need you to increase patrols, both around Akoni as well as any locations in the GZ where natural portals are most consistent to appear. Frostbite, I'd like for you to start working with Tucker and Technus in R&D. They have a project in the works that needs to be completed a.s.a.p., then begin weapon manufacturing. I only want patrols and higher-ups armed at all times."

Walker grunted his agreement and Frostbite nodded in turn, smiling jovially at Tucker, who had flashed him a thumbs-up. Everyone turned their attention back to Danny who had stood and regarded each of them with a fond expression. He met each of their eyes for a short moment, his face stony but eyes blazing with emotion.

"The next few months will be difficult. Hell, we're facing an enemy outside our borders to whom we have done no harm. In the time since I first stepped into that portal, I have faced threats unlike any have ever seen. I held my own against the Mad King. I risked my very existence when I faced down my own dark side. I have struggled and fought and bled for one reason: to protect those that I care about." At this, Danny looked each of them in the eye, conveying every ounce of truth and emotion his words held.

"This is an enemy of which we have little to no knowledge of. Worse still, the GiW are a wild-card. In my past encounters with this shadow organization, I had come to realize the GiW are cold, calculating and harbor a powerful hatred of anything "ghostly". We will be faced with an unpredictable enemy, and unpredictability is just as dangerous as the Mad King's madness. Do not underestimate them simply because they are human beings. Stay on guard, be prepared, and we _will_ come out on top and Akoni, its people, and the Ghost Zone as a whole, will prevail.

"I trust all of you with my life," Danny stated seriously. "And I will do all I can to ensure that Akoni City and its people remain safe. Thank you all for standing by my side."

The Council looked upon their leader with mixed expressions; looks of pride and respect from the Masters and the faction leaders and looks of love and familial affection from the Phantom Family. Danny may not have wanted to take on this role of King of Ghosts, but he had adapted to the role and played it up as if he was born for it. Loved and idolized by the Akoninites, there was truly no one better suited to rule the Ghost Zone.

As one, the Council stood, and each placed a closed fist over their hearts/cores in a salute and cried out in unison, their voices full of pride and respect. "Long live the King, long live Akoni City."

Danny smiled and bowed, literally glowing at the respect and love he felt from everyone present. Having lived a life full of doubt and a lack of self-confidence, the young halfa occasionally relapsed when he felt he wasn't doing a good job or feared he wasn't a good father for Danielle. However, being surrounded by these people, his _friends_ and _family_ , Danny berated himself for thinking such things. These people looked up to him and would always stand by his side. In return, he would lay down his life them.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

As the council adjourned, Ember stayed seated at the table, her foot tapping impatiently. Each of the Elders had stopped to have a few words with Danny on their way out, each short chat ending with a smile and a handshake. For the fiery Rockstar it seemed to take hours for everyone to clear out.

Finally, Ember saw Danny nod his agreement with something Walker had murmured to him before shaking the Wardens hand and showing him to the door. When she heard the wooden door click shut, Ember spun around and locked eyes with Danny. "Come here. Now."

Danny gulped at his love's command and warily approached, his muscles coiled in case he had to pull an emergency 'Fire Escape'.

 **Disclaimer: In case of hormonal, slightly irate fire-core ghost women, cautionary actions are advised. Please plan accordingly to avoid accidental death or fading when faced with the possible chance of incineration from irritated fire-core related outburst. Thank you and have a nice day.**

"Sit."

Danny took the indicated chair; nervously aware it was positioned within her line of fire. Ember didn't say anything, she just stared at him with narrowed eyes and her arms crossed over her chest. Danny began to fidget slightly, growing increasingly nervous as the long, uncomfortable silence dragged on. After what seemed like an eternity the Rockstar broke the quiet.

"So... Theodon seemed real buddy-buddy with you." Ember stated casually, her eyebrow cocked as if daring him to lie to her.

"Heh, I, uh, I hadn't noticed." This prompted the hot-headed punk-girl's eyes to narrow even further and the flames of her hair grew a little taller and take on a reddish tinge. Ember continued to give Danny a hard stare, as if daring him to say something stupid. The Ghost King began to sweat under his loves hard gaze, fidgeting slightly in his chair. Ember smirked inwardly when Dany finally broke. "Ok look, I'd met Theodon and Terra about four or five years ago when Grim and Clockwork introduced me. Terra acted rather motherly towards me, more so than Maddie Fenton ever did. Theodon on the other hand, seemed to always have an eye for me."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Ember snarked blandly.

Danny raised his hands in surrender. "But I never returned it. Honestly, Angel, Theodon is more like an Aunt to me, just like Grim is like an uncle and Clockwork a grandfather." He then took both Ember's hands in his and kissed her knuckles before looking her in the eyes. "I love you, Angel. More than anything - except for Danielle, of course. And nobody, not even the Mistress of Reality, essentially the equivalent of a goddess, can change that."

Ember's hard stare softened, and her hair shrunk and faded to its usual cool-blue. "I love you too, baby-pop." Danny was then surprised when the rock-solid Rockstar adopted a look of doubt and shifted her gaze to the table's wooden surface. Her voice was meek and quiet. "I just feel like...like sometimes you'd be better off with someone else. Someone better than me."

A knuckle under her chin found Ember looking up into the warmest set of green eyes she had ever seen. "Better than you? Ember, love, there is _no one_ better than you," Danny's voice was soft but firm.

But the Rockstar was not to be swayed. "Oh please. I'm emotional, and stubborn. I had a total of two friends before I landed outside your mansion, know why? Because I can be a callous bitch. For Master's sakes, I almost killed you! Multiple times! How the hell can you stand to be with someone like me?"

Danny sighed before pulling Ember from her chair and into his lap. The Rockstar cuddled into her love's chest and sighed when Danny started running his hand through her hair. "How could I not? Sure, you can get worked up pretty easily, and you often win any arguments we have. But I wouldn't have you any other way. Despite your flaws, I see the real Ember McLain; a loving, warm, kind young woman who values family and friends over grandeur or fame. On top of being the most beautiful woman I have ever had the privilege of knowing, you are like a mother to Danielle, you're passionate and loving. You don't let anyone beat you down or give you shit. Let's not forget how tough and fearless you are."

Tears had started to gather in Ember's eyes and she began berating herself for ever doubting that Danny didn't love her. Hearing the Rockstar sniffle quietly spurred Danny to pull away and return his gaze to Ember's emerald eyes. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and placed a tender kiss on her lips. "I love you with everything I have and everything I am. Don't ever doubt that for even a moment."

Ember gave him a watery smile and kissed him deeply. Once the two broke apart for air, Ember whispered softly to him, "I love you too."

Danny grinned and set Ember back on her feet, despite her protests. "I'm glad to hear that. Now I won't feel like a goob for what I'm about to do next."

"What do you mean?" Ember furrowed her brow in confusion. Her eyes then grew wide and her core almost stopped when Danny slowed knelt down on one knee and produced a small, black velvet box.

"Ember McLain, will you make me the happiest halfa in the Ghost Zone and the World, and be my wife?" On 'wife', Danny lifted the lid of the box, eliciting a gasp from Ember. Nestled in a bed of silk lay a small, silver band, etched with small flames around the edge. In the center sat a small heart, outlined with several, tiny white diamonds. What really drew her attention were the two stones that sat within the heart; each cut into the shape of half of the heart were a shining blue diamond, the same shade of Ember's hair, and a green diamond that seemed to radiate the same heat and color of Danny's eyes.

Ember found herself breathless and could do no more than nodded her head frantically, her eyes blurred with happy tears and a huge grin on her face. Danny slipped the symbol of their unwavering love on her left ring-finger before sweeping her into his arms and proceeding to kiss Ember as deeply and passionately as he could. The Rockstar felt her knees going weak and her toes starting to curl with the intensity of the couple's embrace.

Coming up for air, Ember's head was swimming and her core seemed to swell from the amount of love she could see in Danny's eyes. A thought crossed her mind and her lips curved up into a mischievous smile. "Deanna!"

Danny cocked an eyebrow when his fiancé called in the City Hall receptionist. The council chamber door opened to reveal a short, grey-haired woman with green skin and warm, green eyes. Deanna spoke with a slight southern lilt. "Yes, Miss McLain?"

Ember spoke to Deanna, but her eyes never left Danny's. "Would you mind pushing back any meetings Danny has this afternoon by about a half hour? If anyone asks, he's...in a meeting."

Deanna grinned slyly and nodded. "Of course, Miss McLain. Would you like me to lock the door, as well, dear?"

"You read my mind, Deanna. Thank you."

Hearing the door click shut and the lock turn, Ember pulled Danny with her towards the table. Danny voice his confusion. "Uh, Angel? Why exactly have you moved my meetings back?"

Ember ignored his question and asked one her own, turning to examine the council table. "This table is made of oak, right?"

"Um, yeah. Akoni's best carpenter built it after the Hall was finished… Why?"

In response, the Rockstar jumped up to sit on the edge of the tabletop and gave Danny a sultry look. "I think we should test its... _sturdiness_. Care to join?"

"Sturdiness? I just said it...oooohhh."

"Yeah, clueless, 'oh'." Danny grinned sheepishly, causing Ember to roll her eyes. She beckoned him with her finger. "Get over here, King of Ghosts, and show me how a ghost moans."

 **HDR HDR HDR**

 ***Sigh*, I do apologize for how long this took. Regardless, how'd y'all like it? Shit's really starting to get stirred now huh? And how about that proposal? Bout time, am I right?**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun typing this one.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	9. Ch 9: Celebration

**Okay ladies and gents here comes chapter 9. Thank you all for your kind reviews of last chapter. Thought ya'll might enjoy my little bonus ending on that chapter, heh-heh. I've been waiting for the right moment for the proposal and thought that was as good a time as any.**

 **Anyway, here you.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **TPE TPE TPE**

"Show me th' way t'go home!" 

Vlad looked up from the book he'd been reading when he faintly heard singing from somewhere in the Mansion. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he noted it was currently 10:30 in the evening.

"I'm tired an' I wanna go t'bed!"

The old half furrowed his brow in confusion. _Who in the name of butterballs would be singing at this time of night?_ Vlad set his book aside and extracted himself from bed. After slipping on a pair of house shoes and donning a robe, he left his room and started to wander the halls, searching for the persons singing.

"We had a little drink 'bout 'n hour ago!"

It was in the basement that Vlad happened upon Danny and Tucker...a very drunk Danny and Tucker. The two lifelong friends were situated at the large poker table in the game room, the surface of which held several overturned shot glasses and a few empty beer bottles.

"An' it's gone straight t'our heads!"

The pair broke out in a fit of drunken laughter and slammed back another round of shots. When Danny set his glass on the table top he spotted an impatient looking Vlad standing in the game room doorway with his arms crossed.

"Hey! Tuck look! 'S Vlad!" Danny grinned stupidly, his speech slurred. "Come an' take a load off, Vladdie! Tuck 'n I was jus' celebratin'."

Tucker responded by raising his refilled glass in a salute before knocking it back. He slammed his glass down with a grin. "Yeah dude, come an' have a drink!"

Vlad's eye twitched in irritation and he cocked his brow. "And what, pray tell, would you be celebrating that requires you both to drink staggering amounts of alcohol and sing those ghastly lyrics?"

Danny stood suddenly, swaying just a bit as he did, and raised a half empty bottle of tequila with a big smile on his face. "I'm gettin' married!"

"Married?" Vlad's eyes went wide, and his brow shot to his hairline. "You? What?"

"Yup! Me an' Miss McLain will be gettin' married this year." Danny declared proudly, plopping back into his chair. "I proposed after th' council meetin'."

Vlad slowly lowered himself into a chair and stared at Danny in slack-jawed surprise. Tucker started to giggle quietly at the old halfa's expression as he sipped his whiskey and Danny just stared back at the old man with a smile on his face and his eyes half lidded. "I must say Daniel...I'm really at a loss for words."

"S'alright, Vlad. There's only one word I wanna hear from you." Like a switch had been flipped, Danny seemed to instantly sober up and grew very serious. "Tucker's already agreed t'be my best man, but I was hoping' you'd be one of the groomsmen."

Vlad's heart leaped in his throat and he felt a warm spread throughout his chest and the corners of his mouth tugged upward in a minute, but genuine, smile. "Daniel, I would be honored to be in your wedding."

Danny smiled and stuck out his hand. Vlad shook the offered hand before finding a shot glass being pressed into his palm. Danny poured himself and Tucker another shot and raised his glass in a toast. "To bright futures, loving families, and good friends!"

Tucker and Vlad raised their glasses with a cheer and shot back the brown liquor. The night continued on in much the same manner. Danny and Vlad talked long into the night, sipping on alcohol, and swapping stories. Tucker tried vainly to keep up with the halfas, but sadly his fully-human anatomy was no match for a half-ghost digestive system. The tech-wizard was passed out with his face on the wooden surface of the table before the second bottle of tequila was half empty.

 **HDR HDR HDR**

With morning came three, incredibly hungover men, and three very irate women. The girls had spent a good portion of the morning wandering the mansion in search of the men, checking each room, starting from the top floor, and working their way down.

Sam growled in frustration, slamming the door of the room she'd just searched. "I swear, when I find that beret wearing moron I'm going to slap him so hard Grim will have to start doing house-calls."

Jazz sighed at Sam's threat, but she didn't disagree. There was a mountain of paperwork that had to be signed by Danny and filed with City Hall before noon and they were already behind schedule. Ember was as equally pissed but managed to keep her hair at a reasonable temperature so as to not freak Danielle out.

"Oh, believe me," Ember started with a growl. "Danny is going to be on the couch for the next month when I get my hands on him."

After nearly a half hour of searching, the girls were summoned by Jazz to the basement Game Room. Slumped over in their chairs, snoring up a storm with their faces planted on the poker table, sat Danny, Tucker and Vlad. The three were surrounded by half a dozen empty bottles of booze, dozens of overturned shot glasses, and a handful of empty glass tumblers.

Each of the girls' eyes twitched in anger and the three shouted out simultaneously:

"Daniel Epoch Phantom!"

"Tucker Christopher Foley!"

"Vladimir Martin Masters!"

The men shot up in their chairs at the raised voices and immediately shut their eyes and grabbed their heads in pain. The trio let out a collective groan and began muttering under their breaths.

Danny squinted up at the girls and grimaced. "Morning ladies. Could someone turn the light off?"

Ember stomped over to her fiancé, grabbed him by the chin, and turned his face towards her. "You have five seconds to get your ass upstairs and in the kitchen or you're going to have burns in unpleasant places."

"Y-yes ma'am," Danny stuttered and gulped hard. Tucker started to quietly snicker, only to yelp in pain when Sam grabbed him by the ear.

"I wouldn't start laughing if I were you. No PDA for a week and you're on dish duty for twice that." Tucker groaned and bowed his head in defeat.

Jazz nodded at her two counterparts approvingly before turning to glare at the old halfa, who had wisely remained quiet, observing the two younger men and their significant others with amusement. "Ahem."

Vlad froze and slowly turned his head to see a tall redhead glaring at him with hands on her hips. The old halfa chuckled weakly and shot Jazz a pained smile. "Good morning Jasmine."

"Don't 'good morning Jasmine' me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Danny and Tucker looked up from the table and turned to Vlad with curious expressions. The halfa in question appeared flummoxed for a moment, having never been in trouble for a night of heavy drinking before. Vlad's mouth moved soundlessly as if looking for something to say before looking to Ember and smiling with a grimace at the pounding headache he had.

"Congratulations?" He stated weakly.

Sam and Jazz looked confused for a moment and turned to Ember for explanation. The Rockstar sighed and hung her head, lifting her hand and to show off the ring Danny had given her the day before. The two human girls gasped and squealed in unison, chattering excitedly, 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the beautiful ring. The men breathed out a sigh of relief at the girls' attention being diverted.

Without taking her attention from the rock on Ember's finger, Jazz spoke loud enough that all three men could hear. "You three are still in deep. You gentlemen are more than welcome to go to the kitchen and start on breakfast for everyone."

Sam and Ember smirked when the men groaned and started the slow shuffle from the room and up the stairs. Ember was the first to make a remark. "He may be King, Tucker may be his Quartermaster, and Vlad might be my future father-in-law, but we three girls run this house."

The girls broke into a fit of giggles and started towards the stairs. Ember glanced at the watch Danny had given her on their second anniversary - a titanium casing with a black leather strap, secured to the wrist with a titanium buckle. The face itself was similar to the watch Jazz had received when Danny had left home, however the clock face was inlaid with light-blue flames and the back of the casing was engraved with Ember and Danny's initials inside a simple heart. "Oh crap. It's about time for baby-dip to wake up. I'll see you ladies at breakfast."

With that, the Rockstar became intangible and shot through the ceiling to the habitat floor. Sam and Jazz exchanged glances and smirked. "I know they aren't blood, but Em has become a real mother to Dani. I wonder if she'll ever tell Danielle how she feels."

"It's possible." Jazz pondered as the two crested the stairs and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. "Ember's not a very open person though. Remember how long it took for my little brother and her to start dating? I thought the world would end before they finally got together."

Sam laughed and nodded in agreement. "You've got a point. Guess we'll just have to have a talk with the hot-headed diva and make her face facts."

Jazz snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, that'll work."

"True. Worth a shot though." Sam stated, and chewed on her lower lip worriedly. "I would just hate to see those two at arm's length one day. I mean, Ember loves Danny, and that dork is head over heels for her. Danielle has Danny wrapped around her finger and Em is not far behind in that regard. The three of them would be a beautiful family."

Jazz threw her arm around Sam's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I wouldn't worry about it so much. It's obvious all three of them love one another, in varying degrees. A blind man could see how much Ember cares for Danielle, and I know the little tyke see's Ember as a mother-figure. I think it will all work out in the end. Just you wait and see."

Sam smiled appreciatively and elbowed the redhead gently in the ribs and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as well. "Thank you, Doctor Fenton. Was I on the clock for that session? Or was that a freebie?"

"Hmm…" The redhead put a finger to her chin in mock thought. "Well, technically the work day doesn't start for another hour, so I guess we can call it a freebie."

The two girls laughed and walked into the kitchen, arm in arm, only to stop in stunned surprise at the scene before them. The table was set for seven and was almost groaning under the weight of the mountain of food spread across the surface. Plates piled high with stacks of pancakes and waffles, piles of bacon and sausage (patties and links), an assortment berries and fruits and various vegan foods for Sam. And amidst this veritable banquet were Danny, Tucker and Vlad. Each seemed to have been assigned to a specific task; Danny was manning the frying pans, cooking the bacon, eggs, and sausage. Vlad had taken to another set of pans, for the pancakes, and the waffle iron. And Tucker was cutting up fruit and making the vegan dishes for Sam.

Jazz shook herself from her stupor and nudged Sam. "How in the heck did they do all of this in so little time?"

"A halfa never reveals his secrets," Danny answered before Sam could reply. "But if you must know…" the halfa turned and smirked, his eyes covered by a pair of cheap sunglasses. "Practice makes perfect."

"Daniel do not tease the ladies." Vlad chastised, manipulating a pan to throw a pancake in the air, the momentum causing the disc to flip and land on the other side in the hot pan...all this was done with an almost fluid, casual zeal.

Danny rolled his eyes behind his glasses and started flipping the bacon. "Yes dad."

Sam and Jazz had moved to the table and taken their seats during the two halfa's little back-and-forth. The girls exchanged a look and cocked their brows. Their attention turned to Vlad, curious what his reaction would be.

Vlad merely raised his own brow at Danny. "Don't take that tone with me, young man." The old halfa chastised.

Danny smirked in response and carried the last plate of breakfast meats to the table. "Yes sir. Hurry up with those pancakes Vladdie."

The old halfa ignored Danny's taunt and carried his own food to the table alongside Tucker, who was holding an ice pack to his head and wearing a pair of dark shades like Danny's. While everyone present started piling their plates and digging in, Vlad set the plate on the table and took his own seat next to Danny, leaving an open seat for Ember on Danny's other side. "If the ladies have deemed our punishment of making breakfast as sufficient for the time being, I was thinking we take the rest of the day off and go for a swim in the lake. It has been a very long time since I last swam recreationally."

Jazz raised her fork in a salute and nodded in agreement. "Good idea Vlad. Danny and I are all caught up on paperwork for now, and anything that pops up today we can have Deanna file and we'll take care of it tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Danny agreed, swallowing a bite of waffle. "Been meaning to take Danielle out to the lake for a while now, I think a family day is just what we need."

While the other three were discussing the days plans, Sam was talking quietly with Tucker. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Nah, you don't need to apologize, babe." Tucker stated, waving her off. "I wanted to celebrate Danny's engagement and I went a little overboard. I should have been more responsible. I'm sorry."

Sam leaned over and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "I forgive you. As long as you understand why I was mad. You know I love you."

Tucker smiled and set his hand on top of Sam's. "I love you too."

At that moment Danielle came barreling into the kitchen with Ember right behind her. "Good morning everyone!"

"Good morning Danielle." The group replied in unison, smiling in exasperation at how much energy the little halfa seemed to possess.

The little halfa grinned and plopped herself on Danny's lap, earning her a hug and a plate of waffles. Vlad leaned over and tapped Danielle on the nose and smiled when she giggled. "Danielle, how would you like to go swimming today with everybody?"

Her eyes grew wide and she swiveled her head between Danny and Vlad. "Really?! Swim day?!"

Danny chuckled and nodded, giving his daughter a squeeze. "That's right, kiddo. Grandpa Vlad thought it would be a good idea to have a family day at the lake."

Danielle squealed and clapped her hands in excitement, a huge grin that lit up the room appearing on her face. The group smiled and laughed at the littlest Phantom's reaction as Ember sidled up next to Danny and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Maybe I'll wear that bikini you seem to like so much."

Danny choked on the coffee he'd been drinking and coughed, drawing confused looks from the others. When he could breathe again, the halfa leaned into his fiancée and whispered back. "If I apologize for getting blind drunk and promise never to do it again, will you let me take it off of you later tonight?"

Ember winked, "we'll see."

 **TPE TPE TPE**

Just outside the mansion, off to the right of the house if you were facing the front, the crystal-clear waters of Akoni Lake sat just as pristine and sparkling as it had when the island was formed. Alongside it, roaring and cascading into the lake, stood Phantom Falls, the waterfall that poured into the lake. The large body of water had been fenced in along with the mansion, surrounded by a modest, three-foot-high stone fence. The fences purpose was more to show where the property began and ended, than to keep people out. In fact, the lake itself was open to the public, with a handful of wrought-iron gates scattered around the outer edge of the lake to allow the citizens entrance.

It was here that the Phantom Family could be found, splashing and laughing in the water, lounging and talking on the shoreline. Danny was sitting on the short stretch of sandy beach, closest to the mansion, helping Danielle build a sandcastle. "Hey, kiddo."

"Yes, daddy?" Danielle asked, her eyes still concentrated on the wet sand she was molding with her hands.

"I want to tell you something, princess. And I want to know how you feel about it."

At this, the little halfa looked up at her father with rapt attention. "What is it, daddy?"

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he answered. "I asked Miss Ember to marry me, princess. She's going to be my wife."

Danny watched with bated breath as Danielle began to process what he had just told her. Shock flashed through her eyes, followed by excitement, then confusion and nervousness strangely enough. The little halfa looked up at her father and opened her mouth. "Does...does that mean, Miss Ember will be my...my mommy?"

"Well, princess...that's up to you." Danny explained slowly, making sure Danielle understood what he was saying. "Ember will be my wife. She'll officially be a part of our family. Now, Miss Ember loves you, and I know you love her too, kiddo. If you want to call her mommy, then that's great. If you just want to keep calling her 'Miss Ember', that's okay too, princess. But I want you to understand, Danielle, it's your decision. It is _your_ choice. Ember will love you either way, and we won't love you any less no matter what you choose."

Danielle turned to stare out at the lake for a moment, totally silent as she thought. She glanced over at Ember, who was sitting a ways away with Sam and Jazz, chatting away about something, and thought about all Miss Ember had done for her and with her. The fiery Rockstar was always there to make her happy when she was sad. Miss Ember was always there with Daddy when she wanted to play a board game or draw pictures. She even helped her with her school work! Danielle never had a mommy, not one that she knew anyway, but the little halfa always thought; if a mother was anything, it was Miss Ember. The Rockstar acted like a mother, and treated Danielle like she was her own.

Danny smiled when he saw the look of determination and happiness on his daughter's face, and he knew she had made her decision. The little halfa looked back up at her daddy and nodded her head. "I'd like Miss Ember to be my mommy."

"I'm glad, princess. I'm glad." Danny pulled his daughter to his chest and hugged her tight against him, the little halfa returning the embrace just as much. Danny let go after a moment and motioned towards the half-finished pile of sand. "Now, are we gonna finish this totally awesome sand castle or what?"

Danielle smiled, nodding her head, and continued to work the wet sand in her small hands. Danny glanced back at Ember, catching her eye. The Rockstar cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrow in a silent question. Danny smiled and nodded, motioning with his head towards Danielle. Ember grinned in understanding and the fire of her hair deepened into a warm, dark blue. She finally had the answer to the question she'd been asking herself for a long time. Danielle would be her daughter, and Ember would be her mother.

 **TPE TPE TPE**

 **There we are. Whew, I knew I'd get it done eventually. Thought it time to do some familial bonding chapters, and I hope this chapter was as good as my previous chapters. So there ya go, people. Not sure if I'm gonna do a mommy reveal in a short sequel or mention it towards the end of this, but little Danielle has Ember as her mommy, or will anyways.**

 **Anyway, until next chapter, hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	10. Ch 10: Breach

**I know, I know. This chapter has been a long time coming. I'm sorry it took so long, but I just lost the motivation to continue, so I started on another story I had gotten the idea for. I have finished Book 1 of my Percy Jackson story and am in the process of writing Book 2. This story, HDR, will be taking a back seat, but may still be added to from time to time. Thank you so much for your patience and continued support/following of this story and for sticking with me for so long. I will try to be more consistent, but I make no promises.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **HDRHDRHDR**

"Reactor levels are nominal."

"Current flow and Ecto-ambient levels are steady and rising."

"Excellent. Begin activation sequence."

Deep in the bowels of the GiW's main Headquarters in the Americas, there lies a research facility dedicated to paranormal research and defense. Their goal was to hunt down and eradicate all things that go bump in the night. On this day, their goal was to build a portal, a gateway, into a world parallel to ours.

"Levels rising and quantum harmonizers charging. Activation sequence initiated. Beginning energy surge." The GiW goon reported, slowly shifting slide-switches and turning dials.

A hum filled the room that seemed to vibrate the teeth of the rooms many occupants. The head of the department, Dr. Yohan von Braun, grinned behind a pair of tinted goggles. The portal project had eaten up almost two months' worth of man hours and millions of dollars in funding. Today would be the day it finally worked.

An alarm sounded throughout the room and a blinking red light lit up the switchboard in the observation room. Yohan cursed and rushed to the switchboard. The readings had been stable up until the final stage in the sequence.

"Verdammt! Initiate emergency shut down!"

Slowly, the humming that had reached an alarming level began to gradually power down. The ethereal glow of the ecto-fueling pods began to dim, and the klaxon finally fell silent. Yohan fell into a chair and pulled off his goggles. He rubbed a hand over his bald head and sighed in frustration.

"I see project BREACH is not going very well." Yohan jumped up and spun around, paling at the sight of his C.O.

"Herr Colonel!" Yohan's bald head began to glisten with a nervous sweat. "E-eet would appear zee final stages of zee activation sequence ees giving us zee most difficulty. Everyzing else is showing green across zee board, but zee final stage redlines every time. I am at a loss at how someone as… _simple minded_ as zee Fentons were capable of achieving success."

Colonel Z stared stone-faced at the German Para-Physicist for a long, tense moment. Yohan sweat even more and tried very hard no to shrink under his CO's hard stare.

"I want _results_ , Yohan. You and your department need to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb and figure out why _my_ portal does _not_ work, and the _Fentons_ portal _does_!"

"J-ja, Herr Colonel," Yohan stuttered, snapping off a shaky salute.

"You have two weeks to give me an answer to our problem. At that time the Head Director will be shutting down this project, and I cannot allow that. Two weeks, Yohan! Figure it out!" The Colonel spun on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Yohan wiped his brow with a handkerchief and turned to the other lab techs.

"Well? You heard zee man. Reset everyzing and pull all files pertaining to zee Fentons notes! Ve have _two weeks_ people. Move your asses!" The techs scrambled and began scurrying about the lab. Yohan sighed and shook his head. "Zis ist going to be a _very_ long week."

 **TPETPETPE**

"Lord Phantom."

Danny glanced up to find one of Walkers men. "Kroll, right? What can I do for you?"

The officer, Kroll, was surprised that Danny remembered, much less _knew,_ his name but hid his surprise well. "The Warden requests a meeting, Sir. He says he has information pertaining to GiW."

Danny's expression resembled stone and he nodded.

"Thank you, Kroll. I shall be along shortly." The officer nodded and floated away to return to the prison. Danny sighed and glanced over at his fiancée. The two of them had been enjoying a day out, taking some time to get away from all the war councils and duties. "I'm sorry, Angel. Walker knew this was our day, so whatever it is must be important."

"It's fine, Baby-Pop," Ember said with a sad smile. "We'll just have to continue this later."

Danny hooked a finger under her chin and gave her a soft, yet searing, kiss. "You can come with me, if you want?"

Ember sighed with a content smile. "No no. You boys need your talks. I'm gonna find the girls and see about doing some shopping." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later tonight. Love you."

"I love you too," Danny returned with a smile. He watched Ember walk back to the house, taking a moment to admire her rather shapely backside. He shook his head and took off towards the prison.

Ten minutes later Danny entered Walker's office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the Warden's desk. "Alright, Walker. What's this about?"

Walker sighed heavily and laid the papers he was reviewing on his desk. "We've got some new intel from some of Mistress Theodon's spies."

The skeletal warden reached into a cabinet in his desk and produced two tumblers and a bottle of ectohol. The bottle glowed a dull green and had a label depicting one of the distilleries in the hills outside the city limits. A fairly new company with a great turnout. The purity and distillation was heavily regulated and watched, yet their liquor proved to be a favorite amongst the Akoninites.

"And?" Danny asked, nodding his head in thanks when Walker passed him a snifter of ectohol.

Walker sipped his drink and settled in his chair. "The humans are gettin' close, dangerously close, to finishin' the portal."

"Shit," muttered Danny. He took a sip and glanced up at Walker. "How far have they gotten?"

"They got the framework and the energy readouts to where they want 'em," the old Warden grinned a ghoulish smile. "Far as what I could understand though, they haven't figured out the bridgin' problem. They haven't factored in the human DNA catalyst."

Danny hummed and swirled his glass thoughtfully. This was a relief to hear. For months the prison officers, Dora's army, and Frostbite's warriors had been running training drills in preparation for when the GiW would come. The fact that the GZ may have another few months before breakthrough eased some of the tension in Danny's shoulders.

"This is good," Danny finally conceded. He tossed back the rest of his drink and waved off a refill. "However, I've been thinking these past few weeks about something we may have overlooked."

"Oh?"

"The GiW is an organization. A _national_ organization. This isn't a small militia of extremists or vigilantes. This is a major operation spanning the entire United States," Danny stood and began to pace. "Even if we manage to shove their asses back through that portal, we still have another half dozen facilities to worry about."

Walker mulled the information over in his head for a moment. The King was right. Taking on the GiW would be like trying to quell a facility-wide prison riot. Sure you can cut off a hallway or two, slam a few of the escapees back in their cells, but there's still the rest of the prison that needs locked down.

"What do you propose we do then?" Walker asked, cocking a non-existent eyebrow.

"We need to call a council meeting," Danny finally answered after a moment. "I have an idea on how to cut the head off the snake, but I want everyone in one place when I lay it out. We need to strategize carefully and efficiently. There can be no room for error."

Walker nodded and reached for the phone on his desk. "I'll call the councilmen and women. Nine o'clock tonight?"

"No. Tomorrow. I'll need tonight to get everything prepared and I have some paperwork I've been pushing off," grumbled Danny. Walker chuckled and began dialing.

"Heh, I get enough of that to know. I'll get it set up, boss. Have a good evenin' with your hothead."

Danny glared and stomped out of the room. "Jackass."

 **TPETPETPE**

"The portal has been built," Danny announced, his expression dark.

The council bowed their heads, some glaring and others closing their eyes in with painful, and reluctant, acknowledgement.

"An' tha bridge?"

Danny shifted his gaze to Terra and shook his head. "Thankfully, we got lucky. They have yet to figure out that little important detail." There was a collective sigh of relief. "That being said, we will have to move forward with our plans," Danny paused. "And I have one I would like you all to hear."

That certainly got the council's attention.

"Essentially? We cut the head off the snake. Across the continental United States, there are six GiW facilities. Five of the branches are in the top Capitals of the U.S., and the GiW main headquarters in Washington, D.C.." Danny explained, dimming the lights and turning on a projector. The far wall was lit up with a map of the United States with five small dots in various states, and a large 'X' over Washington, D.C.. "Each facility is dedicated to a specific area of research; weapons, defenses, paranormal study… experimentation."

That caused an uproar.

"What!?" Walker roared, his massive fists clenched.

"Bunch of right bastards, I said," Terra chimed in with narrowed eyes, her forest-green aura flickering dangerously. "This greatly upsets tha balance."

Even Frostbite, without a doubt the gentlest and kindest of the council, was incensed. "To commit such acts against those they do not understand. To the Pit with them!"

"Enough!" Although he never raised his voice, the simple command silenced the group. They all turned to Danny and cringed. His aura had flared, a dangerously-beautiful swirl of toxic-green and icy-blue. His eyes were glowing bright, full of radioactive fire. "I understand your anger, and your disgust with these… monsters," Danny spat. He took a breath and his aura calmed. "But right now we have to focus. We cannot go off, half-cocked. We have to do this right, or the Zone will be lost to the hands of the GiW."

The council nodded, and everyone returned to their seats, giving Danny their full attention. Danny nodded and turned back to the screen. The slide changed to show a blueprint layout.

"Now, the upside to these facilities, is that the construction company hired to build them stuck to a very basic design. Every facility layout should be the same. Security is tight; stationary ecto-turrets in every corridor, cameras mounted every ten feet with three-sixty field of view, and white suits stationed at random intervals throughout.

"This is where things get tricky." The slide changed again to show a new building. It was five-stories tall, with white-washed stone walls and dozens of office windows. "GiW H.Q.; this is one nest of hornets that we have to kick really hard. All information that is traded between the branches is routed through the main server in this building. That will priority number one; disable communications and the agents are running wild." Danny turned to the group and folded his hands behind his back. "Technus will be tasked with disabling comms and will be part of a ten-man group of soldiers, spearheaded by Fright Knight."

Danny sighed, and his expression morphed to that of somber acceptance. "These GiW fascists are a dangerous and unpredictable enemy. Almost clinical in their destruction of ghosts, and unhindered by any feelings of remorse. They will not hesitate… and neither can we."

Ember's heart went out to the handsome King. She knew her fiancé didn't want to take a life, couldn't even stand the thought of such an action. But there were innocent afterlives at stake here. He swore an oath to protect his kingdom and her people.

Clockwork bowed his head in sympathy. Daniel was such a kind and gentle soul, it pained him to think the young king would be forced to commit such an act as taking a life. Being half-ghost, Danny understood the fragility of life, and how quickly the small flame that is life could be snuffed out.

Grim tightened his hold on his scythe, the weapon that has rendered many a soul from the plane of the living. Being the corporeal representation of Death itself, no one knew more about ending a life than the Grim Reaper. All it took was the flick of a wrist and a soul would be severed from its body. He had been the Reaper since just after the death of King Akoni and the imprisonment of Pariah Dark, and yet, after taking the legions of souls in his long afterlife, it never got easier. For this young man to have to even consider ending another's life… it made the old Reaper's bones ache.

Tucker, Sam and Jazz exchanged grim, sad looks. It pained them to see Danny have to take actions they knew would hurt him. Neither of them wanted this for him. But they understood his reasoning. He would do so for his family. For his people. For Akoni City, and all inhabitants of the GZ.

Danny cleared his throat and regarded each of them in turn with a small, sympathetic smile, clearly having felt their own sympathies for him. "The facilities must be hit simultaneously, as soon as Technus knocks out communications. I don't want even the slimmest chance they might coordinate and regroup-"

A knock at the chamber doors interrupted Danny, causing the council to look around and furrow their brows in confusion.

"Enter," Danny called.

The door cracked open and Johnny 13 entered the room. Since Ember and Danny had started dating, Kitty and her boyfriend, Johnny 13, had slowly began to warm up to the halfa. Johnny, now preferring to be called John, had been offered a job as both a mechanic for Danny, and an informant on the goings-on in the human world, due to his more human, albeit pale, complexion.

The biker had cleaned up his act not long after; his hair was clean and healthy, pulled back into a neat ponytail, and his face was clean shaven and oil free. John no longer wore his classic 80's biker gear anymore, favoring black, stone-washed jeans, black combat boots, and white t-shirts with his favorite leather jacket. The jacket recently being updated with Danny's DP symbol sewn on the right sleeve.

"John!" Danny greeted the man with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

John strolled through the room, high-fiving Tucker and Ember on the way, and smiled back at Danny. "Hey boss. Sorry to interrupt, but I got some info topside that I think you're gonna like."

Danny cocked an eyebrow and motioned John to the front of the room, taking a seat at the table as he did so.

John snapped his fingers and Shadow melted out of the floor beneath his feet. The shade grinned silently with blood-red eyes and handed John a flash drive. The biker thanked his shadow and turned to the projector, grinning in satisfaction when the file had loaded, and an image appeared on the wall.

"John… what are we looking at here?" Danny asked, his eyes roving over the various pictures and information.

John grinned even wider and spread his arms in presentation. "An opportunity!"

Crickets chirped.

"An opportunity for what?" Sam called out after a moment of silence.

The biker seemed to deflate a bit but carried on regardless. "While Shadow and I were topside earlier this week, we caught some chatter on that fancy radio Technus gave us. Apparently, in a few months, those GiW dweebs will be hosting a conference to showcase their latest advancement in their 'war on ghosts'. Why does this matter, you ask?" John asked conversationally, gesturing towards the room's occupants. "During this conference, the entirety of the GiW higher-ups will be present at this conference, including ghost hunters from around the world."

The grin that spread across Danny's face sent a shiver down everyone's spines and would have had Pariah Dark flinching in fear. "Not only will they all be in one place, but the GiW branches will be left practically unattended - aside from the automated defenses."

"But wait, there's more!" John cried, sounding suspiciously like Billy Mays. "A little birdie let loose just what this advancement is," the biker grinned mischievously and clicked a button on the projector's remote. The slide shifted to a picture of something that sent a pang of worry through everyone. "Their very own Ghost Portal."

 **TCKTCKTCK**

"You really think they're closer to finishing the portal than we first thought?" Danny asked, turning to Vlad.

After the council meeting, the group had split, each heading off for different reasons. After the Phamily had headed back to the mansion, Danny and Vlad had retired to the library to talk, voicing their concerns, halfa-to-halfa.

"Despite the reports, we cannot rule it out," Vlad warned, standing before the lit fireplace with his hands clasped behind his back. "Samantha was correct in her statement; even a child finds trouble with little effort. And these children happen to have billions of dollars in funding and access to military grade equipment."

Danny snorted and flopped down in an easy-chair by the fire. He rested an elbow on the chair's arm, with his chin in his palm, and stared into the emerald flames of the fireplace. "It's not a bad plan," Danny mused. "Catch the entirety of the higher command of the GiW with their pants down, disable their branches, and expose them to the public. The media will have a hay-day."

Vlad snorted in return and took the chair parallel to Danny. "The understatement of the century, Badger." Vlad steepled his hands and joined Danny in gazing into the fire, both halfa's minds running a mile a minute. "We need _our_ portal up and running before the GiW get _theirs_ operational."

"Tucker and Technus are almost finished," Danny informed tiredly, today's events had really taken their toll on him. "In a week, we'll have our own doorway into the human realm."

Vlad was silent for a moment, for which Danny was grateful. It had been a long day.

"And how is our Little Badger adjusting to the soon-to-be newest addition to the Phantom family?" Vlad asked, earning a warm, albeit tired, smile from the younger halfa. Any parent, be they human or ghost, loves to talk about their children, and Vlad thought that a perfect way to take Danny's mind off the rather stressful subjects.

"Danielle had no issues whatsoever," Danny replied, still smiling. "I'd guess she had already seen Ember as a mother figure earlier on, being given the choice of acknowledging that fact just made her that much happier." Danny paused and shifted a thoughtful gaze onto Vlad. "Speaking of… I have a question."

Vlad motioned for him to continue, eyebrow quirked in curiosity.

"Who… who was her mother?"

Vlad didn't respond right away, his brow furrowed in thought for a long moment. "I… am not sure."

Danny straightened, his own brow furrowed in confusion. "How do you not know? You're the one who… well… you know…"

"I apologize, Daniel," Vlad returned sincerely. "At the time, I was more focused on actually creating her and the clones. I had several gene samples taken from several women. Some ghosts and some human. My focus was solely on finding the most stable combination between your DNA and a suitable gene donor."

Danny slumped back in his chair and nodded his understanding. "I just… I wanted to give her closure." Seeing Vlad's raised eyebrow, Danny elaborated. "When all this first started, Ember told me that Danielle had asked her about her mother. Danielle was worried that maybe… that maybe her real mother didn't want her. True, she loves Ember, and sees her as the mother she never knew… but I can still see it in her eyes; that need to know who _she_ was or is. To finally understand where she came from."

Vlad bowed his head and closed his eyes, silently berating himself. Once again, the sins of his past had hurt his family. That sweet little girl, who had just started to call him 'papa', had felt abandoned by a mother she never knew. And he was to blame. "I am so sorry, Daniel," Vlad said in a hushed voice. "Once again, I am to blame for the pain this family has endured."

"Yes," Vlad lowered his head even more, a dull ache beginning in his chest. "But you've been forgiven." The old halfa's head shot up and he stared at Danny with wide eyes. Danny shrugged and gave him a small smile. "You gave us Danielle. I think that's reason enough to forgive you."

Vlad smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Badger."

Danny smiled and stood from his chair. "Now, let's go find Tucker, Walker and Technus. I could use a drink."

Vlad chuckled and followed the younger halfa out the room, his heart and head lighter than it had been in years.

 **HDRHDRHDR**

 **Egad, that took** _ **forever**_ **to finish. But, this was one of those times where you just feel like setting something aside to work on something else for a while before coming back to it. That's how my other story, The Cosmic King, got started. Give it a glance if you like PJO fics.**

 **So, we saw some new characters and another OC for this story make their debut. How'd you like 'em? Btw, von Braun is a German scientist, and was inspired by Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun, the German scientist who was commissioned by the Nazis to build rockets in the '40's. He was also the man who spearheaded the project to build the Saturn V, which launched the Apollo into space. My favorite quote by the man, was after the first V-2 rocket his London: "The rocket performed perfectly, except landing on the wrong planet."**

 **I thought it fitting, considering canon Danny's love of space.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Might be a delay between this and next chapter, just be patient, please. I** _ **will**_ **finish this story… just don't know when.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


	11. Ch 11: It's Time

**To quote Mr. Tiny from Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, 'I have returned!'**

 **Indeed, I am still alive and mentally short-circuiting. ADD is a bitch and a half, and writer's block is a whole 'nother can of worms.**

 **A little update on myself, for those of you wondering or curious (though, I'm not sure why you would be), I've been traveling quite a bit this summer. Went to Ireland for a week in June with my dad. Saw a lot of castle and churches and such. Visited the Jameson Distillery (both the museum in Dublin and the actual distillery in Cork), got stupidly hammered after both visits. Went to Blarney Castle, dad kissed the Blarney Stone (how many people's lips have been on that thing, btw?). Had an EIGHT HOUR LAYOVER in Newark on the way home, slept four hours then stumbled into work the very next day.**

 **Then I went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a week with my mom in June. That was really cool too. Drove through Dollywood, went to Goats on A Roof (that's a legitimate place, btw. Literally a small herd of goats… on a roof). Drove through Nashville and got very lost. Then came home to feel like I'd been kicked in the back by a very pissed off donkey. A quick trip to the ER later and I get admitted for having a kidney stone the size of a 9mm trying to claw its way out of my back.**

 **Overall, I'd give this summer an 8/10.**

 **Anyway, on with the show!... Err, story.**

 **~XxXxX~**

"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed scientists and hunters, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the first Paranormal Research and Defense Committee!"

The crowd erupted in a flurry of applause.

"Thank you, thank you," Colonel Zauer said as the applause died down. He gripped the podium gently and took a moment to gaze out at the audience. "It is truly inspiring to see so many able-bodied men and women dedicated to the preservation of our society against the paranormal menace," he paused as a murmur ran through the crowd. "A menace we all know and fear; ghosts."

The murmur grew louder as several dignitaries and people of the upper echelons of society began to loudly shout questions.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, please," Zauer called out, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "We at the GiW are hard at work, searching for ways to successfully deter and, hopefully, eradicate this threat. We are safe."

As the noise level began to slowly die, there was a dark, deep chuckle that sent shivers up the audience's spines and had everyone cringing in fear. Slow, sarcastic clapping started up.

"Safe? Is that what you believe?" The voice asked. It was deep, smooth and intimidating. Zauer scanned the room through narrowed eyes in an attempt to pinpoint its origin. "You sad, sad little _human_. You are not _safe_."

"Show yourself!" Zauer shouted, signaling the GiW agents stationed throughout the room to watch the perimeter.

"Well, if you _insist_ ," the voice drawled. Screams rang out when a man materialized from nowhere, lazily floating some thirty feet off the floor. He spread his arms wide and grinned. "Here I am, agent."

Zauer's eyes narrowed as he examined the floating man. White hair that seemed to flow like fire, glowing, nuclear green eyes, black and silver suit with a stylized 'DP' on the chest. His grin revealed sharp, pearly-white canines, and he had a nightmare-black cape that seemed to swirl in an invisible wind. Atop his head floated a black crown, wreathed in green flames.

"Phantom," Zauer sneered, glaring hard at the white-haired man.

"Ah, ah, ah," Phantom scolded, wagging a gloved finger. "That's _King_ Phantom to you, _agent_."

"Why are you here?" Zauer asked with a growl, his massive hands gripping the podium hard enough to make it groan. Phantom waved his hand and summoned an empty chair from the audience, lounging in it when it floated up to him.

"Simple, Agent _Zauer_ ," the Colonel's brow twitched and Phantom grinned. "That's right, I know who you are. I'm here to show these good people, and the world, just _who_ the GiW _really_ is. See, I've kept tabs on you and your organization, _Zauer_. Nevada, Salt Lake, New Mexico, Phoenix… D.C.," Phantom grinned darkly as Zauer paled.

A beeping emitted from Phantom's wrist, and he glanced down at a small communicator. He grinned widely and directed his attention to the audience as a whole. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed scientists and hunters, if you would be so kind as to direct your attention to the projector screens along the stage behind Colonel Zauer, you will get but a glimpse into the activities and secrets of the suits behind the GiW."

The room darkened dramatically and there were telltale clicks of projectors turning on. Three, large projector screens slowly descended from their mounts before they began to glow from the projector lights. When the stylized countdown timer started at three, Danny grinned and reclined back in his chair.

"Let the show begin!"

 **~XxXxX~**

While Danny was occupied with the convention, all across the Continental U.S., several events were taking place simultaneously. One such event was occurring at a covert GiW Communications Facility near Lake Eerie, only thirty miles outside Amity Park. A large group of ghosts were gathered just beyond the security perimeter, all invisible and awaiting orders.

Sam gripped her ectoblaster tightly, her booted foot tapping anxiously while Tucker muttered and tapped away on his trusty PDA.

"How much longer?" Sam whispered anxiously; her eyes glued to the Facility that sat no more than two-hundred yards from them.

"Sixty seconds," Tucker replied simply, his eyes never leaving the screen. He glanced up at his nervous girlfriend and decided to distract her in a way he knew would calm her down. "Sam, relax. Why don't you run me through the plan, one more time?"

"Seriously? Tucker, I've talked you through it at least a half-dozen times!" Sam practically hissed, her nerves really getting to her.

"Humor me."

Sam sighed and nodded. "Fine. The second security is disabled, we need to send the ten-minute warning to Squads F, D and T. After ten minutes, we should be at the Communication Hub and have it disabled. That's when we issue the all clear and those three begin their assault on the other Facilities. Once all four secondary targets have been neutralized, each team leader will send an all clear to Danny. If Danny has received four 'all clears', he and his team will converge on the H.Q. and finish the job."

"And if he doesn't?" Tucker asked, noting mentally that the defenses would be down in fifteen seconds.

"Then we fall back through the Porta-Portal and regroup to fight another day," Sam took a slow breath and felt her heart rate slow. "If it comes to that, hopefully his little presentation will be enough to turn the public against the GiW and do our job for us."

Tucker grinned when his PDA beeped a positive sound and turned to his girlfriend. "Showtime, babe. Let's knock 'em dead."

 **~XxXxX~**

"Uh, sir?"

"What is it, agent?" Asked the head security chief.

"Well… I'm not sure, sir. Facility defenses seem to have had a glitch, sir. They're acting… strange." The agent replied, staring at his computer screen with a look of confusion

"Hmph, are they still operational?" The chief asked, squinting at the screen over the agent's shoulder.

"As far as I can tell, sir."

"Hmm…" The chief twirled the end of his mustache thoughtfully for a pause. "Run diagnostics and do a full systems check."

"Yes, sir!"

The chief nodded and continued his circuit through the security wing, occasionally stopping at an agent's station for a brief status report. Exactly three-minutes and fifteen-seconds later, the first agent's computer began to trill urgently.

"Uh, sir? We have a situation!"

"What-?" Before the chief could finish, a resounding boom shook the facility, sending several agents stumbling and cursing. "Shit, we're under attack! Initiate Defense Protocol: Delta Indigo Fifteen!"

The chief turned to find the emergency communications line and nearly collapsed in shock when he found his path blocked by a towering, glowing, metal figure.

"I've never had the chance to hunt human before," Skulker commented with a malicious grin. He raised his gauntleted arm and two glowing, blue blades sprang from the back of his wrist. "There's a first time for everything though."

 **~XxXxX~**

 _Squad F - Fright Squad_

 _Undisclosed Location_

 _Marked: Confidential_

 _AKA; Area 52_

 _10 minutes later_

"God dammit!" Cursed the chief security officer. He ducked behind cover just as a hail of ectoblasts rained over him. "How did these ectoplasmic bastards get in here? This location is supposed to be shielded!"

"We're not sure, sir!" A nearby grunt replied. He popped out from his cover and fired off a few blast from his ecto-gun then ducked back down. "Systems showed all clear only moments before the interior sensors were tripped."

The chief swore and carefully peaked around his cover. A squad of the glowing, green skinned bastards had formed a firing line and were blasting away at their covers and agents with extreme prejudice. Craters had been blasted into the walls, green fire crackled and roared throughout the room and death cries of his fellow agents could be heard over the sounds of weapons discharging. It was a verifiable slaughter and the chief was sure the rest of the facility was just as chaotic.

"I want someone on the radio ten minutes ago and call for reinforcements!" The chief roared, leaning slightly out of cover to pop off a few blasts at the invading force. Two ghosts went down, reduced to smoking piles of ectoplasm.

"Sir! Long-range communications are down!" A nearby agent shouted after a moment of trying to contact support.

"For fucks sake!" Spat the chief. "Have we no contact with the rest of the facility?"

The agent changed frequency on his radio and spoke into the receiver for a moment. He nodded to the chief. "Short-wave is still functional, sir. Reports say the rest of the facility is under attack."

The agent's words hit the chief like a sledgehammer. The whole facility had been overrun.

Then, without warning, the sounds of fighting stopped abruptly, and the chief felt relief flood his system. The invaders had been beaten back! His men had stopped them! The ghosts had-

A chill rent the air, cold and biting. The ominous green glow of the fires dimmed and sputtered. The chief felt a stab of fear lance through his heart and glanced around to see his men literally quaking with fear, their eyes wide and frantic. Then, they heard it. Like a knife scraping their spines or nails dragged across a chalkboard, an eerie, horrible screech filled the air for only a few seconds, and a horrible, green-purple glow filled the room.

The chief shuddered as the feeling of fear increased and his heart felt as if it stopped when he heard metallic footsteps thudding dully on the linoleum floor. He turned his head and watched as a large shadow grew closer and closer to where he hid. He raised his ecto-blaster with shaking hands, teeth chattering and eyes wide. The point of a sword emerged from around the corner of his cover, black as midnight and wreathed in flames of purple and green, followed by the boots that thudded against the floor. They came to a stop and the chief's eyes slowly looked up at the owner of the boots and sword.

"You and your men have fought valiantly," Fright Knight, the Spirit of Halloween and the Bringer of Nightmares, stared down at the chief with glowing green eyes, hidden behind his black helmet. A purple plume of flames flickered and crackled atop his helm and curtain of the same flames flowed behind him like a cape. "However, today, you have lost," he raised his sword, the Soul Shredder. "Long live the King!"

 **~XxXxX~**

 _Squad D - Death Squad_

 _Undisclosed Location_

 _Codename: Salt Lake_

 _Same Time_

The Grim Reaper swung his scythe with calculated accuracy, rending the soul of another GiW agent. The battle had started only moments ago and already most of the underground facility had been overrun or captured. Danny's plan was working. Soon… soon the GiW would no longer remain a threat and ghost-kind would remain free and peaceful.

"Lord Death!" Grim swiped at another unfortunate soul and turned to the ghost that had called for him. The specter was green-skinned, like most ghosts, with red eyes and broad shoulders. A long, angry scar marred the left side of his face.

"Yes, Creed?"

"We've found the armory, sir, and…" a dark look crossed Creed's scarred visage. "There's evidence of experimentation."

Grim's boney fingers tightened on his scythe. "Show me."

Creed nodded and led Grim through the facility. The pair walked in silence, expressions blank, as they passed countless blank doors with placards that depicted a letter and number. All around them the screams and sounds of ectorays discharging slowly became less and less.

Two long hallways later and Creed pointed out a heavy, steel door with a combination lock, anti-ecto ray-shielding and a nine-digit keypad. Grim cocked his head to the side. "Tight security. Has it been opened?"

"My men and I lack the power, my Lord," Creed replied a tad shamefully.

Grim patted him on the shoulder and gave a light squeeze. "It's alright, my friend. You and your men did a good job. Let me take care of this."

"Of course, my Lord. Thank you," Creed gave a half bow and backed away as Grim approached the door.

Grim studied the door for a moment, searching for any visible weak points. The hinges were internal, and the seams of the door and doorframe were well machined, fitted together so well a slip of paper would be able to slide through. Death raised his scythe and began to charge the curved blade with his raw power.

Death's scythe, the most iconic symbol of the Grim Reaper, was no simple wheat thresher. The blade had been forged many millennia ago, not long before Grim had been chosen by the Observant Council to take up the role of Master of Death. The blade had been forged from an ancient metal, known simply as Chaotic Iron, combined with bronze and gold that had been blessed by the divines. Infused and treated with undiluted ectoplasm from the most ancient part of the Ghost Zone and tempered by the Head of Observant Council's own will. For Six months, Six days and Six hours, the blade was forged, shaped, hammered, reforged and shaped again. Once the metal had cooled, the blade was attached to a shaft of wood carved from the center of the trunk of an Elder tree, stained black by the fires of the Eternal Flame that lights the Crown of Fire.

The scythe wasn't what you would call a 'god killer', but it was fairly close to one. Grim charged this very scythe with his raw ecto-energy, the very power of said energy caused the blade to glow bright blue and swung at the door with the skill of a Master. The blade sliced diagonally through the steel like a hot knife through butter. A downward strike followed closely and separated the side of the door that hid the internal hinges, from the door frame.

With a groan of metal on metal, the door fell apart with an almighty crash. Creed followed Grim into the room with a look of awe for the sheer power the Master wielded. That awe quickly switched to grim horror once he had a chance to take in the room and its contents. All four walls, from ceiling to floor, were loaded down with a menagerie of weapons - ranging from swords and bo staffs to handguns and rifles. What was worse, every weapon gave off that sickly, poisonous green glow that identified them as anti-ghost weapons.

"My gods," Creed breathed, eyes wide with shock. "There are enough weapons here to destroy half the Ghost Zone."

"Indeed," Grim glared at the collection with dark, empty sockets before he turned and swept out of the room. "Destroy them. All of them."

Creed nodded with a grin and raised a hand that began to glow with a faint, pinkish glow - a sign of a concentrated ecto-ray. "Of course, Lord Death."

 **~XxXxX~**

 _Squad T- Tech Squad_

 _Undisclosed Location_

 _New Mexico_

 _Same Time_

Technus grinned behind his goggles and watched as his contingent of specters continued to hammer against the steel bulwark. The infiltration of the base had gone as planned so far and a majority of the base had been successfully brought to heel. With the primary objective all but completed, the secondary objective was to now find the room containing all data referring to the recreation of the Ghost Portal. And if the reinforced, ecto-shielded steel door in front of him was any indication, they had found it.

"Quickly now, my brethren!" Technus shouted, now adding his own powers to work on opening the door. "We are so close to victory! Soon we shall rejoice in our independence and freedom!"

The contingent cried out their approval and, emboldened by their squad leader, attacked the door with fervor. Smoke and the smell of ozone flooded the short hallway, filling the area with heat and a collection of different colored light. From the weaker, more common green of standard ecto-rays to the stronger, bright crimson red of the more powerful rays, each pounded and hammered against the steel bulwark. Soon enough sparks and dents appeared across the door's surface, which brought a cheshire grinned to Technus' face.

"We have almost broken through!" Technus shouted. "Together now, my friends! Concentrate all your power on the center of the door!"

There was a pause as the group of twelve, including Technus, gathered as much power as they could in the palms of their hands. The collection of colors slowly switched to an eerie crimson glow, bathing everything in red. The air felt charged and heavy.

"Now!" Shouted Technus and, as one, the ghosts released their collective power and two dozen ecto-rays came together to form one massive beam of raw energy that punched through the damaged bulwark like a bullet through wet cardboard. As quickly as it came, the massive ray stopped and a molten-red hole, large enough for a full-grown man to walk through easily, dominated the center of the door.

Nicolai Technus strolled through the hole and paused to take in the room. Monitors and screens dominated several tables along the left wall and a large, reinforced, bullet-proof glass window on the right revealed a small room from which one could monitor without being exposed to unnatural radiation fields. And in the center sat… nothing.

"Hmm," Technus stared at the empty floor through narrowed eyes. "It would appear young Jonathan Thirteen's intel was correct." The tech ghost turned to the squads radioman. "The portal is not here. Inform King Phantom and the other Squad Leaders."

The radioman nodded. "Yes sir."

Technus turned to Lydia, the squad's second in command. "Miss Lydia, please inform the rest of Tech Squad that we are done here."

Lydia nodded and lowered the hood of her red cloak, revealing spiked hair and piercings. She cocked an eyebrow in a silent question and nodded to the body of a GiW agent.

Technus glanced at the body with a stoic mask. "No prisoners."

Lydia grinned evilly. She drew her hood up and phased through the wall to do as she was ordered.

 **~XxXxX~**

 _Back with Danny_

Valerie Gray watched in stunned horror as pictures and clips of inhumane torture played across the projector screens. Each one was more gruesome, more horrible and more sickening than the last. Spatters of ectoplasmic blood. Dismembered ghostly body parts. Surgical scars. Half-healed wounds leaking a green parody of blood.

The Red Huntress sat in attendance with a conglomeration of the best hunters, paranormal researchers and scientists on the planet. For the last five years she had been contracted by the GiW to act as their enforcer; rounding up and capturing or destroying ghosts with little to no remorse. And now, Valerie was bearing witness to the fruits of her labor. Valerie didn't like ghosts, but the sheer savagery presented before them made her feel like she might be sick.

It was made all the worse when Phantom started providing commentary.

"Tortured. Experimented. Ripped apart and put back together. Over. And over. And _over_ , again."

The projectors changed to show a ghost that resembled a small child, a boy, who looked no more than eight-years-old. The boy's mouth was wide open in a scream they couldn't hear. Ectoplasm ran from where his arm used to be in a steady stream. Tears fell from his eyes just as steadily. The scene seemed to skip and now GiW scientists were sewing the arm back on, being none to gentle, if the way the boy was still screaming was any indication.

"The GiW refers to my people as _things_ ," all could hear the icy sneer in his voice. "They cut and tear and hurt with no remorse. With extreme prejudice. They believe we cannot feel the pain. That our emotions are merely echoes of when we were alive."

The scene changed once again to show the same ghost child curled up in the corner of a glass cage. He was cradling his reattached arm and staring into the camera with blank eyes and an expression of pure hopelessness. Valerie felt as though an invisible, icy hand had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.

"They are _wrong_ ," Phantom continued. "We feel just the same as you do. We love. We hate. We understand compassion and joy. Pain and heartbreak."

The projectors clicked off and the venue's lighting returned. Valerie blinked to give her eyes a moment to readjust and looked around at her fellow hunters and scientists. She noticed that even some of the hardest and cold-hearted of the hunters were wiping away tears and looking rather somber.

"Do you see, now?" Phantom asked. His voice was soft, but to Valerie it was like he was shouting. "Seven years ago, my people had no direction. No goals. They lacked leadership and ran rampant across the Ghost Zone and Amity Park. I have changed that. _I_ lead them now. With kindness, respect, humility. My people and I have reformed the Ghost Zone and have made it a true home for ghost-kind. We desire peace and independence. The GiW is a threat to that peace. They would sooner see us ripped apart… molecule by molecule."

Valerie felt a chill run down her spine at that last line. It reminded her of Jack and Maddie Fenton and their obsession with catching Phantom.

Everyone heard Phantom sigh and watched as he lounged back in his chair with a tired look on his face. "I simply want peace for my people, for my friends… for my family."

Many a person's eyes widened. Phantom had a family? Valerie herself was almost catatonic with this information overload on who she once considered her 'arch-nemesis'. Phantom paused and pressed a finger to his ear. A moment later he smiled and nodded.

"And now, I will be returning home," Danny stood in midair and waved his chair back to the floor. "Any man-made portals to the Ghost Zone will soon be destroyed and disassembled, and any information that details how to build one will be destroyed," he paused and scanned the room with those haunting green eyes. "After today, there will be no way of opening a bridge between the Human Plane and the Ghost Zone from the Human Plane," he smirked. "Consider it a form of border control. Tomorrow will mark the day that our ancestors strove to do many millennia ago; total separation between the ghosts and the humans.

"I leave the decision up to you, ladies and gentlemen of this _Committee_ , of what to do with what remains of the GiW," a feral grin spread across Phantom's face, while Colonel Zauer's paled. While the head agent was furiously whispering into his radio, the rest of the room remained fixated on the Ghost King, captivated by all he had said. "And with that truly delicious thought, I bid you fare-"

"Wait!"

Phantom stopped at the shout and turned to its source with an eyebrow arched. A mountain of a man with blue eyes, black hair and an orange jumpsuit stood next to a woman with light, violet eyes, red hair and a blue jumpsuit. Both wore identical expressions of confusion, hatred and anger.

"Yes?" Phantom drawled. He looked bored, but Valerie could see something hidden behind his cold eyes. It was difficult to identify due to how far away she was seated, but to her it looked like he was pained.

The man in orange, Jack Fenton, stalked through the crowd of people, Maddie Fenton hot on his heels, and pointed a thick, gloved finger at Phantom. "What have you done to my boy?"

Phantom gave them a pitying look. "I have done nothing. You _know_ this. You simply refuse to see the truth."

"Bullshit!" Maddie hissed. Valerie could see tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "You did something to our son. And I wouldn't be surprised if you did something to Jasmine!"

"Jazz is fine," Phantom returned calmly. "She's happier than I've ever seen her with a family that loves her. She has a very important position within my court and has been invaluable."

"Liar!" Jack roared; his ham-sized fists were clenched tightly at his sides. "My Jazzy-pants would NEVERstoop so low as to associate with a ghost!"

Phantom was silent for a long moment, simply staring at the Fentons with a sad, pitying look. He shook his head.

"Every day I thank the Void that I revealed my secret to you. Had I not, I would have lived in constant fear. I wouldn't have found a _real_ home and a _real_ family. So much for a family reunion," he muttered. Phantom waved his hand and a circle of green flames burst into existence next to him. The center of the circle began to swirl until it took on the familiar likeness of a Ghost Portal.

The Ghost King turned to those in attendance and scanned the crowd. Valerie was sure her heart stopped when radioactive-green eyes met her darker, forest-green. A look of recognition flashed across his face and a small smile ghosted across his lips. Phantom snapped his fingers once then spun around and entered the portal. Valerie felt a weight settle in her hands and looked down to find a silver and green device that resembled one of her old classmate's PDAs.

Curious, Valerie pressed the power button and found a message in the email box. Glancing around to make sure no one could see, she opened the email and read it quickly.

 _Ms. Gray,_

 _No doubt you have several questions, especially after that little presentation. If you are prepared to listen, I am prepared to answer. Simply reply with a 'yes' and I will be along at my earliest convenience. If you reply 'no', then this device with self-destruct, shorting-out the circuitry, rendering the device inoperable and you shall never have to deal with me or 'my kind' ever again._

 _Think it over, Ms. Grey._

 _-Phantom_

 **~XxXxX~**

"Is it over?"

Danny turned from his view of the city from his balcony to find Ember standing next to him. The flames of her hair were low and flickering slowly, her expression that of concern and worry. Danny felt his gut churn at seeing the love of his life in such a subdued mood. He pulled her gently to him and ran his fingers through her hair.

"For now, yes," he closed his eyes when he felt her wrap her arms around him, her small hands clutching at his suit, almost desperately clinging to the comfort he provided. "It's going to be okay now, Angel," Danny whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Our people, our friends, our little girl. We're safe. We're free."

"Free," Ember repeated. Her light-green eyes met the bright-emerald of Danny's and saw the truth in his words. They were really free. Free from the fear. Free from the claws of the GiW. Free to live their afterlives in peace. The flames of her hair steadily grew, getting taller and taller until they crackled and flickered at their normal height. Her subdued expression was swept away, replaced by a small, genuinely happy smile. A smile that betrayed the relief she felt.

Without another word spoken between them, their lips met in a tender, passionate kiss, full of love and happiness and promises of a future that spoke of peace.

 **~XxXxX~**

 **So, next chapter will just be the epilogue. I feel I've gone as far as I can with this story and my writer's block is just kicking my ass too much to really expand anymore on this story.**

 **That being said, do not be sad, for I am far from finished with Danny Phantom fics. I have more than twenty other stories, with at least one to two chapters a piece, sitting in my google drive, just waiting to be completed. Now, only a few of them are DP, but all of them seem to start off really well. Most are crossovers, but nothing half-assed as far as some crossovers go. I think you'll really like 'em when I get around to publishing 'em.**

 **Thank you, my beautiful readers!**


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